Zootopia: A New Adventure
by determined725
Summary: When a camping trip takes a turn for the unexpected, Luke Barrett finds himself in a city unlike any other he has ever seen before. Follow him as he tags along with the iconic partnership of Zootopia; Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde while he confronts his lasting insecurities in a truly unique place.
1. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Encounter

Zootopia: A New Adventure

 **Author's note: With this being my first story I'm not quite sure what to expect from it but I would just like to see where this takes me. Not much need for introduction so I'll just jump right in. (Please review** **) –determined725**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Zootopia: A New Adventure

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Encounter

Luke swung the axe down as his sister Sofia let out a scream. He picked up the split logs at his feet and promptly looked over his shoulder to see what the commotion was about. At the edge of the campsite was his sister scrambling to get the kindling but failing to beat the sudden gust of wind as the cluster of dried pine needles drifted onto the surface of the lake. Sofia let out a sigh of frustration.

"Wow Sof, if I wasn't so busy I _wood_ have helped you out", he said with a toothy grin while he held up a log. Luke had quite the expertise in puns, which was often met with a prompt eye-roll. This time was no different.

"Your jokes are worse than Dad's, but he at least has us to practice his poor taste in humor on. You just scare off every girl you fancy", Sofia retorted.

"Say, where is he by the way?" Luke asked, his feelings a little hurt by his sister's snide remark.

"He's off catching dinner", Sofia gestured to a figure in the distance holding a fishing rod above the lake's calm surface.

"Well we're gonna need a fire for that", Luke muttered as he glanced at the bare fire pit.

"Speaking of which, can you go and get some more kindling before it gets dark?" Sofia said, pointing to the golden sky as the sun was just above the mountaintops.

"Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm scared", Sofia admitted shamelessly.

Without reply Luke headed into the woods, his footsteps oddly muffled despite the presence of many fallen leaves on the ground. He picked up a handful and immediately noticed their dampness. " _Shit, those rains soaked everything"_ , he thought as he trudged deeper into the forest, looking for any dry spots that the patchy canopy may have saved. Luke's mind began to wander back to what Sofia had said about his unsuccessful love life. Luke had never had a girlfriend, and while he was only 16 and knew that he would eventually find someone, he still couldn't help but to feel like the odd one out for someone his age. Luke was in pretty good shape with a nice face but he wasn't as muscular or attractive like some of the other kids in his grade. Luke much more valued his academics and aimed to go into a medicine as a profession. However, he still found his time to go a little loose and have a good time with his friends (occasionally getting into mischief). Luke realized that most of the girls his age didn't really gravitate toward that intellectual side of him but he knew that those around him would eventually appreciate that part of him. But for now he was alone. Returning to the task at hand, he stumbled across some dry twigs scattered under the base of a large tree. Luke looked over his shoulder to see that the campsite was nowhere to be seen. " _Wow does time fly_ ", thought Luke as he glanced at his watch. He had been walking for nearly an hour.

Luke stuffed his pockets full of the small twigs and took a swig of water from his water bottle. As he put the bottle back into his bag his hair stood up on end as he felt a blast of warm air on the back of his neck. Luke sharply turned around to see a large, brown bear stand up on its rear legs. The bear let out a ferocious growl that would have made any hunter cower in fear. Luke immediately noticed the fluorescent pendant hanging on the bear's…necklace, " _Wait what?!_ ". The bear took its first lunge at Luke, missing by inches. Luke steadied himself as the bear edged closer. He left his axe back at camp but Luke's eyes quickly honed in on another close weapon; the bear's necklace. The next lunge Luke was ready. As the bear charged Luke grasped the necklace by the glowing pendant while simultaneously swinging himself onto the bear's back. Quickly Luke twisted the necklace and began to strangle the beast from behind as it struggled to get Luke off. Luke knew that if he held on for a little longer the bear would soon go unconscious and he could make his escape.

"GET ME OUT OF HERE", bellowed Luke, clutching the pendant as the bear reared up to fling Luke off.

As the bear jolted forward, the thread of the necklace snapped as Luke was flung off the bear's back and crashed headfirst into a neighboring tree.

The sun had not yet set but all Luke could see was darkness.


	2. Chapter 2: New Scenery

**Author's note: Having a lot of fun with this so I just had to write the second chapter. Hope you enjoy it as well! (Please review** **)**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 2: New Scenery

Luke's eyes began to flutter open as he regained consciousness. The first sight Luke saw was an abundance of trees, just like when he was knocked out. He propped his arms behind him as he tried to sit himself up but immediately he felt the pain that was caused by the battle with the bear.

" _Wow that bear must've really roughed me up"_ ,Luke thought as glanced at his watch.

"GAH!" gasped Luke as he noticed his wrist was now covered in thick, grey fur. Luke's heart rate shot up as he quickly looked down at the palms of his hand…or paws.

He now had thick, padded palms and his fingernails were now gone. Instead he had jet-black claws that were as smooth as marble.

The shock of Luke's transformation completely wiped out the soreness of his muscles as he bolted over to a pond nearby. Luke's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. The pond displayed the reflection of a young wolf with sharp brown eyes, which contrasted with his sleek, grey fur.

Luke examined himself; he wore a pair of khaki shorts with a simple button down T-shirt, the same outfit he had been wearing when he got attacked. However a thought quickly crossed Luke's mind as he thought of wolf-anatomy. He looked at his rear to see a grey tail protruding from the base of his spine; there was a tail-hole already at the back of his shorts. Luke decided to get used to this new appendage, he began wiggling it from side to side and it was surprisingly easier than he expected. He barely even noticed his tail was there but he easily had full control over it.

Being caught up in this metamorphosis, Luke quickly realized that his family would probably be freaking out that he went missing. He checked his phone only to have his heart drop. The CNN notification read:

" _Sixteen year-old Luke Barrett is declared missing after he vanished during a camping trip with his family. His current whereabouts are unknown but his parents say they refuse to suspend the search."_

Luke immediately dialed Sofia's phone number but was let down when the call dropped even though he had service. At the top left corner of his phone the network said "ZOO". As Luke put his phone away he heard his phone tap against something hard in his pocket. He glanced down at his paw to see the crystal pendant, its glow now entirely gone. Luke had no idea why the bear was wearing that pendant but Luke's thoughts immediately wandered back to the notification. He slipped the pendant back in his pocket for safekeeping.

" _So, I'm now missing without means of contact. Oh also, I'm a different freakin' species!"_ Luke's breaths started to get more rapid and shallow as he observed his surroundings.

Woodlands surrounded Luke but he knew that he was not at the woods of the camping site.

" _They would have found me by now"_ , thought Luke with defeat. Luke assured himself that he was not dead, _"Why else would I have my belongings? More specifically the crystal pendant…"_ The roar of a car suddenly snapped Luke's attention to a road that he had not noticed before being caught up it the commotion of his species-change.

With claws clicking on the pavement, Luke looked up to see a cluster of skyscrapers in the distance. He let out a sigh of relief as he walked briskly towards the city.

As Luke approached the city limits, he was shocked. There was not a single person in-sight but what shocked him even more was that there were tons of animals in sight, acting just like humans.

Animals of different species walked together, even more surprising to Luke was that they were all on two legs. Two anteaters sat at a café outside drinking coffee while a tiger on the street corner handed fliers for the musical production of "Snow leopard White". While a large billboard advertised a Gazelle's album Luke stood there barely able to take it all in.

" _I should probably get to the police department. They might be able to call my family_ ", thought Luke as he ventured into the city.

Luke ventured from street to street, admiring the atmosphere and keeping his eyes open for the police department when a noise caught his now heightened sense of hearing:

"All your favorite movies! I got movies that ain't even been released yet!"

Luke scanned the area and saw a scruffy weasel selling movies on the street. A large banner next to his kiosk, or rather table, said "Duke's Officially Licensed Movies". As Luke approached the stand, Duke was immediately excited. This wolf looked new to the area based off his wandering looks at the animals and buildings.

" _I can probably dupe this fool outta some dough,"_ thought Duke with a grin now growing on his face.

"Hey um Duke?" stuttered Luke.

"Yeah bub? Ya here to make me an offer?" Duke replied as he tossed a chewed toothpick behind him.

"Uh no sorry. But can you give me directions to the police department?" Luke said timidly. He wasn't sure if he could trust this weasel. He was a bit sketchy. Luke didn't even know the name of the city he was in.

"Sure thing bub" Duke said coldly, still remembering his last encounter with the rabbit and fox officers.

" _You'll get to the ZPD alright"_ Duke thought evilly.

"HEY YO EVERYONE! THIS HERE WOLF HAS NIGHT HOWLERS!" Duke shouted for everyone to hear. When Luke turned to retaliate at Duke, the weasel was gone.

All the animals around him quickly backed away from Luke, all their eyes wide with fear. Luke, meanwhile, was just as alarmed with the chaos now surrounding him. The dispersed animals rapidly formed a wide ring around Luke. Just as Luke opened his mouth to speak he saw two figures bolt toward him; a grey rabbit and a red fox wearing dark blue police uniforms.

"Alright people, what seems to be the problem?" the fox asked coolly.

"That wolf's got night howlers!" blurted an alarmed zebra.

"No I don't!" pleaded Luke.

"Who told you that this wolf has night howlers? That is a very serious accusation! The first and last outbreak was 3 years ago!" stated the bunny authoritatively.

"It was some random weasel!" replied Luke with haste; he did not want another animal to cause even more chaos with a twisted version of the truth. "I just asked him for directions to the police office and he just shouted that I had night howlers whatever the hell those are!" sputtered Luke, his eyes now starting to tear up from being purely overwhelmed by the day's events.

"Sir, did you happen to catch his name?" the bunny asked cautiously.

"Duke" replied Luke more calmly upon sensing the change in tone from the officers

"Ah, that would explain it", said the rabbit as she and the fox shared a look.

"Alright ladies and gents, this wolf is clean. Next time before panicking make sure there is an actual threat first!" Nick told the crowd, who upon hearing the message immediately began to venture off.

"Thanks officers" said Luke, his heart still beating a million times a minute.

"No problem kid, my name is Nick Wilde and this is my lesser sidekick named Judy Hopps." Judy immediately tapped her foot in frustration but Nick just patted her head. This gave Luke a grin.

"I'm Luke Barrett" he replied as he shook hands with the two.

"So you needed to get to the ZPD?" asked Judy.

"I need to get to the police department…" Luke hesitated before continuing "…but what exactly does the 'Z' stand for?"

Nick and Judy both gave a small chuckle.

"This, kid, is Zootopia"


	3. Chapter 3: Suspicion

**Author's Note: I am having a lot of fun writing this story! I'm starting to get a feel for Luke as character in these opening chapters and now I'll see how he develops over his time in Zootopia. Keep in mind that this is my first story ever so reviews are encouraged. Enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 3: Suspicion

"So Luke, how old are you?" asked Nick as the police cruiser coasted through the streets of Zootopia.

"I'm sixteen", replied Luke coyly.

"Wow, and you were wandering in that run-down part of town all by yourself? Where are your parents?" Judy asked worriedly.

"C'mon Carrots, I was in the streets when I was his age" Nick responded quickly.

"But you were a con-artist!" Judy countered, "This is just a normal wolf. Anyways, where are your parents, Luke?"

"Oh, I'm not from here and they're not here" Luke noticed Nick and Judy look at each other with concern so he added; "But I'm staying here with my aunt and uncle!" He lied with a bit too much confidence for his liking but he noticed the worried expressions of Nick and Judy ease.

"Oh! Well I hope you are having a great time here, Zootopia is a special place!" Judy replied enthusiastically.

"Looks like it!" replied Luke with equal enthusiasm as he slid the crystal pendant out of his pocket and began examining it. Luke had no idea as to what was responsible for the glow emitted by this crystal. He held it up to the window of the police cruiser as the light of the sun shined through. Still no glow was present, the pendant was just transparent.

The cruiser jolted to a stop and the pendant was flung to the front of the car. Judy quickly picked it up curiously.

"What's this?" She asked Luke

"Oh it's a pendant, my grandmother's. I keep it as a good-luck charm" Luke swiftly lied again. He had no idea of the nature of this pendant and was intrigued by its strange glow that was present before he showed up here.

"He probably stole it" Nick joked as Judy passed the pendant back to Luke.

"Nicholas!" Judy said with shock.

Luke grinned at both Judy's reaction as well as the irony of what Nick had just said. The cruiser pulled up to a building what Luke immediately realized was the ZPD. Luke hopped out quickly but stopped at the doors to see Nick and Judy trailing well behind him and talking quietly to one another, but not too quiet for Luke's hearing.

"Carrots, he's lying." Nick said seriously.

"Oh come on Nick! He was alone on the street! He's just frightened!" defensively replied Judy.

"Carrots, I've been a con-artist for years. I know the times when an animal says he wants to do business with me again I can expect him to bring some friends for revenge against me. At the same time I can tell when an animal is telling the truth, when he's being protective over his money and he says he has many mouths to feed. I know how to read people, and something's off here" Nick spoke quickly as he noticed Luke's glance.

"He's just a kid Nick! Give him a chance!" Judy argued.

"Fine, your optimism never fails Carrots." Nick said as he kissed Judy on the nose.

The two partners walked over to Luke, who only had one question on his mind about what he just saw;

"Are you two a couple?" Luke asked surprised.

"Yeah, married actually. You're acting shocked" Judy responded curiously.

"Sorry, it's just that where I live there are no interspecies couples." It was the truth; back on Earth (He wasn't sure if he was still there) no interspecies couples existed.

"Oh yeah, here in Zootopia they only started becoming more popular and accepted within the past decade" Nick responded.

Judy opened the door of the building and the three walked across the wide atrium to the front desk. Luke saw a box of donuts sitting on the desk, he was reminded of how famished he was. It was nearly 4:00 PM and he hadn't had a single thing to eat all day. He was disappointed to find that the box was empty. He returned to Nick and Judy who had noticed Luke's interest in the food. Nick handed Luke a blueberry granola bar, which Luke promptly devoured.

"Thanks Nick. I'm famished", Luke said with content

"It's not much but it'll tide you over for now. We'll get some food in a bit." Nick replied.

The receptionist, a chubby cheetah wheeled over in an office chair and promptly noticed Luke.

"O M Goodness! Judy and Nick? How are you two?" the cheetah was on the edge of his seat.

"We're good Clawhauser" said Nick "You just saw us this morning, why are you so excited?"

"You have a stranger with you!" Clawhauser responded with glee.

"Yes, yes we do! This right here is Luke, Luke Barrett." Judy said as Clawhauser and Luke shook hands. Luke looked down at his paws and saw bits of pink frosting on his fur. He looked back at the cheetah and saw the doughnut by his side that must have been the culprit.

"I was wondering if there was a phone here that I could borrow, my phone isn't working for some reason." Luke explained.

"Sure thing!" said Clawhauser as he let Luke dial in the number.

" _Alright"_ thought Luke, _"Sofia's number didn't work earlier. I think my next best shot is the landline at my parents' house."_ Luke dialed the number but once again had his spirits crushed as the robotic voice on the phone said that the call could not be completed.

"They're not home, I'll try again later from my aunt's house." Luke told Nick and Judy.

"Oh that's too bad" Judy replied with disappointment.

"Well I said we'd get something to eat so what don't we head out and go do that" Nick said to change the subject.

"Perfect! That sounds great!" said Judy while Luke nodded in agreement. As the trio headed out of the precinct Nick held Judy back for a second.

"Carrots, did you see that?" Nick spoke quietly but rapidly.

"See what?" Judy asked intrigued.

"The number he dialed was unlike any number I've seen before" Nick said with concern.

"Nick, it's just because he's from out of town!" Judy said confidently.

"I'm not contesting that! But look at this Carrots" Nick pulled out his phone opened up Zoogle. Nick opened up a page with the map of the world on it as well as a search bar.

"I don't get it Nick, what the hell is this?" Judy said with a bit of edge.

"This page shows the geographic locations for the area codes of phone numbers. When you enter the area code, it shows the geographic origin of that area code" Nick stated. Quickly he entered the area code from the number Luke dialed and showed it to Judy.

"Nick, we're keeping him waiting. How long does this stupid thing take to load?" Judy said with now more frustration.

"It's done loading, Carrots" Nick stated affirmatively.

"Then why is the map blank?" asked Judy

"Because nowhere in the world does this area code exist."


	4. Chapter 4: Who Are You?

**Author's Note: After the first day the story has reached 175 views. I wanted to say thanks for the support within the opening day. I hope you are enjoying the story because I am definitely enjoying writing it. Just as before, reviews are wanted so please review. Enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 4: Who are you?

The drive was quiet. Neither Nick nor Judy had any idea what to say to Luke as their suspicions grew by the minute. Luke sat in the back of the cruiser, examining his paws and tapping his claws together. His mind began to wander back to when Nick had been secretly telling Judy that Luke was lying as they just arrived at the precinct.

 _"I know when animals are lying"_

Luke looked up at Nick to see his eyes fixed on the road, his paws rested calmly on the steering wheel. Despite no one fixating on Luke at the given moment, he still did not like the current atmosphere; it was all a bit too much on edge.

"So don't you guys have to work?" Luke asked

"Our boss, Chief Bogo, just put us on patrol. We can go anywhere but we just have to stay in public places and just keep our eyes peeled for any trouble. That's when we heard people starting talking about night howlers so we ran over to see if there was any trouble." Judy explained

"Who exactly was that weasel?" Luke asked, attempting to keep the discussion off him.

"That weasel, Duke Weaselton, is quite a shifty fella." Judy stated, "We got information from him for a case and he was not very happy about it."

"What happened?" Luke asked intrigued.

"We used a crime boss to extort him." Nick spoke before Judy could start, "Don't worry though, we only do that to people who lie to us." Nick gave a smirk to Judy who in turn responded with a death-glare.

As the car pulled into the parking lot of its destination, Luke read a large sign that said "Snarlbucks". He gave a light chuckle, this place might be strange but their animal puns are great.

As they entered the café, a badger behind the counter in a green apron asked for their drink and food orders. Nick and Judy both got carrot lattes and blueberry muffins while Luke decided to get a "camel frappuccino" and a bagel. With no money, Judy offered to pay for Luke's purchases which Luke gave a sincere "thanks". As they sat down at a table, Luke began to ask about the events that had transpired earlier that day;

"Wait, so what exactly are night howlers?" Luke asked nervously. He remembered the chaos that occurred earlier when Duke had shouted the name. Luke looked around as he said it and saw a few nervous glances from the mammals at neighboring tables. Judy noticed these looks and immediately followed up with:

"Sorry about the looks. The night howler incident still strikes a lot of fear within the Zootopian population. Night howlers, or _Midnicampum holicithias_ , are toxic flowers that cause animals to act very aggressive when consumed. Influenced mammals are unaware that they are acting violent and agitated. It's as if they're a different being. There was an incident 3 years back where a sheep, who also happened to be the assistant mayor, was using night howlers to target the predator population of Zootopia. This case was where Nick and I met and we became lasting partners." Judy concluded on a positive note.

" _Those night howlers sound an awful lot like Rabies"_ , Luke thought to himself.

"That's awful." Luke replied, "Glad everything worked out in the end."

"Thankfully nothing as bad has happened since", said Nick

"We still have plenty of excitement in our jobs though, we have tons of opportunities to thwart crime", Judy added.

"It's true", said Nick, "The incident with you and Duke today actually interrupted a very slow day for us. So thanks!" He chuckled.

Luke grinned, he wouldn't have thought an encounter with police would have yielded a "Thanks".

"So, Luke, tell us about yourself. Do you have any interests?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, I'm a pretty academic student. I really want to go into medicine as a career", Luke replied.

"Really? That's very interesting! I haven't seen many predators want to go into the sciences but I'm not one to talk about conforming to the norm since I'm a bunny cop" Judy said.

"She was valedictorian of her class at the academy too" Nick told Luke.

"Nick!" Judy blushed, she did not like having her accomplishments on such a grand display. Luke smiled at her modesty. The three continued to sip their coffee until Nick asked a very directed question;

"So, Luke, what are you doing in Zootopia?" he asked.

Before Luke could answer he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Excuse me sir, can I get the time?" Luke heard a voice behind him. He turned around to see a large bear towering behind him. Luke jumped up out of chair, a look of pure terror plastered on his face.

"Hey buddy, you alright?" The bear asked sincerely.

"Um…yeah, fine. Thanks guys I gotta go" Luke said hastily as he bolted away from the table.

"Luke wait!" Nick yelled after him but he was already gone.

Luke bolted down the street away from the café while turning a couple corners to avoid being followed by Nick and Judy. Out of breath, he looked over his shoulder to not see any sign of the fox and rabbit. Luke, defeated, slumped down against the façade of the building behind him. He buried his head in his paws and immediately let his thoughts run wild.

 _"What the hell was that back there? I acted crazy (at least in their eyes). I ran away from what was probably a perfectly friendly bear. Nothing like the one that attacked me! They don't know what happened with me and nor should they. What the hell would I say to them? 'Hey guys! So you know how I said I wasn't from here? Yeah, that's because I'm a different freakin' species called a human who pose a threat to almost every single animal in the world.'"_ Luke began to think more, _"If they found out who I was they'd probably lock me up. Keep me in quarantine so I don't spread any diseases. Meanwhile back home my family gives up on the idea that I'm alive while I spend the rest of my life rotting away in a prison cell, research lab or… oh god… a zoo?!"_

Luke panicked as he picked himself up off the street and took refuge in a nearby alley as the sun's setting rays began to shine off the glass panes of towering skyscrapers. Luke took out his phone and scrolled through his pictures. Many were just landscape pictures, as he always loved the outdoors. Contemplating each photo, Luke stumbled across a photo of him with his sister Sofia from the time they went hiking on the Cascade Mountains from last summer. Both of them were smiling, eyes full of joy. But those times were gone now. Luke slid his phone back into his pocket as the alleyway was now completely immersed in shadow aside from a streetlight near the curb. Luke simply buried his head in his paws once again. He started to whimper as tears filled his eyes. He was scared. He was stranded.

He was alone.


	5. Chapter 5: Stonewall

**Author's note: I've noticed a sharp decline in views after the first day but this does not sway me. I'm still enjoying writing this story and want to watch it continue to grow. As always, I highly encourage you to review and if you would like to follow and favorite then by all means do so! Enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 5: Stonewall

"Carrots"

"Yeah?"

"I can't sleep."

"It's one in the morning." Judy muttered, her eyes remaining closed. "Just close your eyes."

"I can't stop thinking about Luke. He lied multiple times and was absolutely overcome with terror when that nice bear simply asked for the time. Then he ran off." Nick said, now sitting fully upright in his bed. Any chance of sleep was gone for Nick.

"Nick, he's 16, a teenager! You expect him to tell the truth?" Judy replied.

"No but he was just acting strange the entire time while he was with us." Nick said with concern.

"So he's a bit weird. That's not our problem." Judy said sleepily.

"I guess not." Nick said as he stood up out of bed.

"Nick, where are you going?" Judy asked with a hint of worry.

"Out to the 24 hour diner a couple blocks down. Sleep just isn't gonna happen tonight Carrots". Nick said as he put on his shirt and strolled out of the bedroom.

* * *

Luke was still in the alley. There was nowhere else to go. He had no money and no contact with his friends and family. He sat in the alley curled up on the cold concrete as he gazed up at the night sky. The silence seemed all too familiar to him. As Luke turned on his phone to check the clock he heard the clicking of claws against the pavement of the nearby sidewalk. He quickly shut off his phone as he scrambled deeper into the shadows of the alleyway.

Nick walked towards the diner wide-awake, the crisp night air doing well to wipe away any chance of sleep. He rhythmically walked down the deserted street, his claws tapping loudly against the cement. He stopped under a nearby streetlight to check his watch.

" _2:00 AM"_ , thought Nick " _May as well just not even go to sleep."_

Just as about Nick began to continue walking he heard a bottle fall over in the alley to his left.

"Who's there?" Nick asked cautiously.

 _Silence_

"I know you're there! Show yourself!" Nick said more invasively.

 _Silence_

"I'm not looking for trouble but I will not hesitate to call for backup if you threaten me." Nick declared with power.

Nick took a few cautious steps toward the dark alley but immediately stopped as he heard claws from deeper in the alley click against the concrete, as the noise got closer, Nick's heart began to beat faster. He had left his tranquilizer gun at home. If this mammal was dangerous Nick would be on his own with no protection. Nick clenched his paws, bracing for the fight that he fully expected but immediately relaxed them as he looked up. His eyes locked on to Luke's tear stained face and he was at a loss for words.

"Hey" Luke said dryly.

"Come" Nick said, keeping the one-word conversation going.

"Where?" Luke responded blandly.

"A diner." Nick said with equal levelness. The grey wolf and red fox turned down the street and walked together in silence.

* * *

The diner was absent of customers. After all, not many mammals would be grabbing a bite to eat in this part of town at nearly 2:15 in the morning. The bell jingled as Nick opened the door. The two sat down at the farthest booth down as a lioness came up with a notepad.

"What can I get for you?" she said chirpily.

"2 coffees please." Nick said as the waitress walked off. The two simply sat in silence as they waited for their drinks. Luke simply tapped his claws against one another while Nick crunched a hardened salt packet against the table. The waitress bounded over with two steaming cups of coffee. She placed them down with a smile on her face and trotted off. Nick took a sip before speaking.

"Why were you in that alley at 2:00 AM?"

Luke paused before responding, "Same could be said about you."

"Very well." Nick said, "I couldn't sleep so I went here to get some coffee before I went back to my place to go do a bit of work. Your turn."

"I needed fresh air", Luke replied smoothly.

"Bullshit." Nick scoffed.

"Pardon?"

"You heard me. You're full of crap." Nick pushed, "I know it and you know it as well Luke."

"I was sleeping there", Luke stated as he took a sip of coffee. "Yes, I lied about me staying with my aunt and uncle because I saw the worry on Judy's and your face when I said my parents were not here, which is true." Luke's eyes began to well with tears but he fought them back down. "I have no money and nowhere to stay."

Nick gave a look of sympathy. He could truly see himself in Luke. Nick himself had been on the street at Luke's age and spent countless nights in the alleyways of Zootopia without any contact with his family. Nick wanted to get to this kid. Nick did not want Luke to make the same mistakes as he had in his earlier life.

"Luke, where are you from?" Nick implored. Luke responded with a blank stare.

"Please, Luke." Nick leaned forward. Still nothing.

"Alright Luke, you're interested in medicine. Say you want to treat a patient but you don't know much about his or her symptoms nor health habits. You can't do anything without finding these out, right? Luke, I'm trying to help you but the only way I can do that is if I know what is going on. Humor me Luke" Nick pleaded. Each word was sincere but he was still met with the same cold, dead stare.

"Luke I get it, you don't want to see me get to you. I thought that was always the right action to take as well but I was wrong. It took me years to unlearn that flawed philosophy of mine. It was always easier just to stonewall, hide myself from sight rather than to be exposed. But all that changed when I met an optimistic little bunny named Judy Hopps. It took me a while but she taught me how to open up to someone. Now I'm here trying to do the same. I know it's hard to do but you'll feel so much better if you just explain to me what is going on."

At first, Nick was met with the same straightforward glare. But then he saw the cracks start to form as tears welled within Luke's eyes. Luke broke down while Nick hopped over to Luke's side of the booth and placed his arm around Luke's shoulder. Luke grabbed a napkin from the holder at the edge of the table to wipe away his tears before he began to explain.

"When I said I wasn't from here, I meant it. I had never heard of Zootopia before you told me. I'm from a world called Earth." Luke paused before continuing; knowing what he was about to say next would change everything. "The truth is I'm not even a wolf… I'm a mammal called a human." Luke turned to see Nick wide-eyed, his mouth twisted in a puzzled expression.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Luke said hopelessly.

"No! It's not that! I mean, this is strange and all but you seem to be very genuine. I've never heard a situation like this so you need to give me some time to take it all in. What exactly does a human look like?" Nick inquired.

"Hold on a sec." Luke pulled out his phone. He saw that his battery level was on red so he knew he had to hurry. Luke promptly pulled up the picture of him and his sister hiking on the mountains. He handed his phone over to Nick who took a couple seconds to look before responding.

"Is this you?" Nick asked. Luke nodded in response.

"Damn son, you're good looking. Granted you're the first human I've seen so I don't really know where the beauty standards are set. You look pretty good as a wolf too if you don't mind me saying. You're gonna do great in Zootopia." Nick gave a wink while Luke grinned in embarrassment.

"Is she your girlfriend?" Nick asked.

"No, she's my sister Sofia. I've never had a girlfriend", Luke stated.

"Like I said kid, you'll do just fine here." Nick simply put it. "So how'd you end up in Zootopia?"

"Well to be honest I'm not quite sure. I was camping with my family when I went deep into the woods. There I saw a bear, which attacked me. For some reason it was wearing this around its neck" Luke pulled out the crystal pendant and let Nick examine it. "I tried to strangle the bear by grabbing the pendant and twisting the necklace tightly around its neck but it broke I was sent flying into a tree. When I regained consciousness I woke up in the forest outside of Zootopia. The bear attack was why I was afraid of the bear in the café." Luke explained.

"Luke, keep this safe", Nick said in a hushed tone as he held out the pendant in an open paw. "We have no idea what this is capable of and if this for some reason played a role in allowing you to travel from Earth to Zootopia then we do not want this getting into the wrong hands."

Luke slipped the pendant back into his pocket while he checked his watch. The time read 3:30 AM.

"Yikes look at the time!" Nick said as he placed some money on the table. "Luke, you're staying at Judy's and my place tonight. We have a guest room and seeing as you have no money, I highly suggest you don't say 'no'."

"Well Nick, I was really enjoying the view from my alley but if you insist." Luke replied sarcastically while Nick lightly elbowed him.

"Come on", Nick said. "I'm gonna have a lot to explain to Judy."


	6. Chapter 6: A Fresh Start

**Author's note: So just as I noticed views declining I logged on to see that the number of views had nearly quadrupled over night up to 635! I just wanted to say thanks for the support as the plot begins to take shape. As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated and don't hesitate to follow or favorite. Enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 6: A Fresh Start

As Judy's alarm blared at the 5:30 AM wake-up time, she lazily rolled out of bed to get ready for the day's work she immediately noticed that Nick was not beside her. Her heart skipped a beat out of fear for where he was but was quickly comforted by the sound of his voice from the other room talking to a familiar voice in the living room. Judy quickly showered, dressed into her police uniform, and wandered into the other room to see what was going on.

As Judy wandered into the room, her eyes immediately locked on to Luke's; amethyst meeting hazel. Silence fell over the room as Nick calmly got up out of chair, walked over to Judy and spoke;

"Judy, we need to talk."

If Judy wasn't startled enough by Luke's presence, she was certainly concerned now. Nick only refrained from Judy's nicknames in serious situations.

"Alright", Judy said as she stole a quick look back at Luke, who simply stared in silence as the two walked out of the room.

* * *

"Nick, what is going on?" Judy asked with concern.

"Judy, he needs to stay with us", Nick replied.

"What? Why?" Judy asked surprised. "Why don't his aunt and uncle look after him?"

"Because they don't exist. Not here at least"

"What do you mean that they don't exist here?"

Nick took a deep before he began, "Luke was telling the truth when he said he wasn't from here. In fact he was as spot on as one could possibly be…"

* * *

Luke felt hopeless as Nick and Judy walked out of the room. He just didn't know where to turn to now. Nick may have believed him but he wasn't sure if Judy would be as willing to accept this strange truth. Luke took out his phone and saw that it was not quite dead yet. Luke new that he had finite time before his phone ran out of battery. He did not have his phone charger and even if he did, Luke doubted the outlets would be compatible with his charger. As he noticed a printer in the corner, Luke hurried over and plugged his phone into the printer's port as he quickly opened up the image of him and his sister and clicked "print". The printer whirred as the picture came out of the machine. Luke gingerly picked up the photo, careful not to damage it with his claws. He unplugged his phone and held the photo next to it to compare the two photos but he was met with the abrupt blackness of his screen.

 _"It was to be expected_ ", Luke thought as he sat himself down on the couch. _"That's why I have this."_

Luke looked at the photo, knowing this was the only concrete proof of his time as a human. He kept it in hand, ready to show to Judy the moment they finished their conversation.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, Luke is not really a wolf. He's a different species called a human." Judy asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yes." Nick nodded.

"And you know this how?" Judy asked.

"He showed me a photo of him and his sister" Nick assured Judy.

"So he was afraid of the bear in the café because right before he arrived in Zootopia he was attacked by a savage bear?" Judy asked, clearly still confused about the situation.

"Yes, although, I'm not sure if savage is quite the word to use." Said Nick, reflecting on his and Luke's conversation in the living room, which Judy had walked in on. "Apparently primitive mammal behavior is sort of the norm where he comes from. Predators act aggressive while prey is timid. Apparently humans are the only evolved mammals and they lock up or hunt animals there. Luke isn't one of those that hunt though. In fact he said he was very supportive of animal rights when he was a human."

"Seems like a very twisted society but I'm glad there are some good figures there", Judy replied, "Why do you want him to stay with us?"

"Are you kidding?" Nick asked shocked. "Judy! He's just a kid and he's living on the street! He's just like me in my teenage years! I look at him and I see myself. I spent my fair share of time on the street and I can't stand to see the same thing happen to this kid when we can do something to help! You and I have wanted kids for a while and that cannot happen biologically, that leaves only one option; adoption. We've been so hesitant because our work schedules just would make raising a kit impossible. Luke seems like a good kid who just needs a little guidance and I trust him! Judy, this is the chance we've been waiting for! There's nowhere else he can go and he needs us. I can't believe you would say 'no' to this after all your talk about help going to any animal that needs it!" Nick stood there while Judy had a blank expression on her face.

"Did you ever hear me say 'no'?" Judy asked, a smirk starting to creep up on her face.

"You- you asked why I wanted him to stay with us. I only assumed-"

"Did you ever hear me say 'no'?" Judy interrupted.

"No, no I did not." Nick admitted, his blushing barely visible under his auburn fur.

There was now a full smirk on Judy's face.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you really care about Luke! What happened to that secretive con-fox?" Judy said, Nick's fatherly actions were new to Judy and she was pleasantly surprised by what she was seeing.

"I don't know Carrots", Nick had returned to using her nickname, "I really care for this kid."

"I know you do." Judy replied smugly. "I like him too and I also think this is our chance for a family."

"Are we really doing this?"

"We are."

"Alright, let's go talk to him." Nick said as the two walked back to the living room.

* * *

Luke sat staring at the photo. His mind was uncharacteristically absent of thought. All of a sudden Luke heard the door open. His ears perked up and he sharply turned his head toward Nick and Judy who entered together holding hands. Luke got up and walked over to the two of them.

"Judy, I'm really sorry for lying to- ." Luke said but Judy pulled him into a very tight hug, cutting him off. Not quite the reaction Luke was expecting but he smiled.

"Nick told me everything that had happened and it is perfectly understandable. After hearing about the treatment of animals I could understand why you didn't want to tell us. You thought we were just going to be like the humans that lock up animals, that we would lock you up" Judy said with genuine sincerity as she looked into Luke's eyes. "No one here would do that to you but I do believe your transformation to a wolf has greatly improved your transition to Zootopia. You would have received a lot of stares on the streets from your appearance as a human." Judy told Luke.

"Yeah, I get that." Luke gave a slight chuckle.

"What do you have in your paw?" Judy gestured to the photograph. Luke handed Judy the photo while she studied it carefully. "Is this you as a human?" She asked. Luke gave a nod of confirmation.

"Yeah, me and my sis."

"Hey wait a second. How did you get the print-out?" Nick asked. "You only showed me the photo on your phone."

"Oh yeah, while you guys were talking I saw my phone was about to die and I have no charger. I doubt you guys any human phone chargers so I quickly printed this photo out in case someone else needed proof of my life as a human." Luke replied.

"Wow, very good thinking Luke", Judy said as she handed the photo back to the wolf as Nick gave him a pat on the back.

"So we wanted to tell you something and we wanted to know what you think." Nick said as he pulled Judy by his side.

"Do you want to live with us?" Judy asked. Luke was at a loss for words.

"Carrots and I talked and seeing as you need a couple of guardians here in Zootopia, why not let them be us?" Nick said while noticing the look of uncertainty in Luke's eyes. "I know this may be soon but we just want to be here for you."

"You guys have such busy lives though as cops." Luke asked with a hint of worry. "Would it really be okay?"

"Of course!" Judy said enthusiastically while Nick just grinned. "Chances our you're going to be in Zootopia for a while as we figure out how you managed to end up here so we can sign you up for school here. The schooling system here must be different than the one on Earth so we can take you in for a placement test later today."

"Really? Me staying with you wouldn't create any problems?" Luke asked.

"Of course not kid." Nick put his arm around Luke and Judy immediately noticed that his worry dissipated.

 _"Nick sure does care about that kid"_ , Judy thought as a smile formed.

"I'd love to stay with you guys then, if that's okay." Luke responded.

"Perfect! We have a guest room already made up but now it's all yours Luke." Judy led him down to a room down the hall from their bedroom. Luke looked around, he wasn't so focused on their apartment when he had walked in with Nick earlier but upon looking around he was surprised by the size of it. For a city apartment it was quite an impressive size. As Judy opened the door for him she noticed the smile on Luke's face. Luke stared wide-eyed at the large room that Judy said was for him. He bounded over to the large bed and placed the photo right on the nearby nightstand before turning back to Judy.

"Judy, I- I can't thank you enough" Luke stammered.

"Oh please Luke, it's no trouble at all", Judy said modestly.

"So what now?" Luke asked.

"Well Nick and I have to head into work at the ZPD but we're taking a short shift today so we'll be off by 1:00 PM. We can take you to get some more clothes and then you can go take your placement test for school." Judy informed Luke.

"When will that be?"

"I'll see if I can get you into the exam slot at 4:00 today", replied Judy. "We're running late for work but you seem to be looking all ready to go. We'll grab some breakfast on the way and there are showers at the ZPD locker room but it looks like you've already taken care of that."

Luke nodded as Judy showed him the way out of the apartment. Nick was already waiting at the base of the stairs with his keys around his paw. As Luke and Judy approached the car, Nick attempted to get it finger unstuck from the loop of the keychain but it was quite the struggle. After a sharp _Yip_ , Nick had his finger and keychain separated as the three of them hopped in the car. Luke looked out the window and smiled while he immediately thought to himself;

" _Today is already looking up."_


	7. Chapter 7: Don't Test Me

**Author's Note:** **No real need to say anything here other than to follow and favorite if you enjoy. Also don't hesitate to review.**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 7: Don't Test Me

"Hey Luke"

"Yeah?" Luke said with his mouth stuffed with a bagel. He hadn't had anything substantial since he arrived in Zootopia so he grabbed a big breakfast on the way to the ZPD.

"You got cream cheese on your muzzle" Nick pointed to a spot on himself to show where Luke should check.

"Thanks", Luke said as he wiped it away with a napkin. "I could come up with a joke about what just happened but it would be way too _cheesy_." Luke said with that same toothy grin of his as he waited for the expected follow up.

"Oh lord." Judy rolled her eyes as the car stopped at a red light.

"Have mercy on our souls. We have a pun-master in our presence" Nick said as he looked back at Luke from the passenger's seat with a grin. Although this was the usual reaction toward one of Luke's puns, Luke definitely felt that the response was certainly more in jest than the response of some of his peers at school. As the car parked in the lot at the ZPD, the newly formed trio walked into the ZPD all together. They passed the front desk to see that Clawhauser was nowhere to be found.

"That's weird, Clawhauser is always here to greet us in the morning", Judy said.

"I have an idea as to where he is." Nick said as he picked up a note on the desk and read it out loud; "'I've gone on a doughnut run. Be back at 7:00 AM- Officer Clawhauser." The group chuckled as Nick put the note back down on the desk. The three walked to Nick and Judy's office space but were interrupted as they heard a voice behind them.

"Wilde! Hopps!"

The three turned around to see a large tiger running after them.

"How you doing Fangmeyer?" Nick asked.

"Fine but I don't know if you guys will be. Chief Bogo wants to see you in his office." Fangmeyer replied.

"Oh he does? We'll be right there. Thanks Fangmeyer!" Judy said as they changed their course for Chief Bogo's office.

"Why does he want to see us?" Judy asked Nick as she widened her eyes with anxiety.

"Beats me Carrots but we'll find out soon enough", Nick said calmly in order to ease Judy's anxiety. But the truth was that he was as nervous as Judy. It wasn't often that Bogo called animals into his office but when he did the news was almost never good.

The three sat down outside his office while they waited. Judy nervously tapped her foot on the linoleum floor while Nick tapped his claws along the wooden arm of the chair. Luke sat while staring into space before breaking the unnerving silence.

"Should I be nervous?"

"No! Of course not! He's not your boss", Judy assured him.

"Well Carrots, talking with Bogo isn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows. More like lightning and torrential downpours. He's an intimidating fella", Nick responded.

"Thanks Nick, you're always a help." Judy said with a death-glare.

"Alright it can't be that-", Luke was interrupted by the door of Chief Bogo's office swinging open. Luke gazed up at the massive cape buffalo's stone-cold expression and immediately saw what Nick meant.

"Wilde, Hopps. Who is this?" Bogo gestured to Luke who remained seated.

Judy spoke up, "This is Luke Barrett. We're his guardians because he's alone in Zootopia. He was with his family on a trip but then-".

"They got in a car crash. Luke here was the only survivor. He had no family nor relatives so we took him into our household." Nick quickly interjected while Judy had a mixture of both confusion and anger on her face. Nick looked over at Luke and noticed tears streaming down his face. Nick walked over and pulled Luke in a tight embrace while quietly whispering to him:

"Nice job kid."

As they pulled away from each other, Luke wiped away his tears and gave a couple sniffles for good measure. Chief Bogo was at a loss for words. Spending most of his time in a building full of strong-built cops, he wasn't used to animals showing their emotions like this.

"I- uh- I'm sorry." Bogo stammered, "Wilde, Hopps. I need you in my office please. Luke if you could just wait out there that would be great. This won't be too long."

"O-okay" Luke said shakily as he added one more sniff.

Bogo was quick to usher the two officers into the room, wanting to get away from the cloud of emotion brewing in the lobby as fast as possible. Nick and Judy sat down as Bogo began to speak.

"I called you in to let you know that shorter shifts for you two are to be expected for the next couple weeks." Bogo informed them.

"Sir, is this a punishment for something?" Judy asked.

"No, no. Many of our cases are stalled. Forensics is backed up due to a limited number of staff. Since you two submitted your most recent case well behind others it is likely that you will not have much to work on around here besides reports and to go on patrol. I still want you two to show up every day but you're going to have half shifts until further notice." Bogo stated. Nick opened his mouth to speak but Bogo knew exactly what he was going to say.

"No Wilde, there is no reduction in pay seeing as this is not your fault. Any further questions?"

"No sir." Judy said punctually.

"Excellent. Dismissed!" Bogo stated as Nick and Judy quickly left his office.

Luke hopped up from the chair as Nick and Judy strode out of Bogo's office. Nick ran over to Luke and used his paw to ruff up the fur on Luke's head.

"Kid, where did you learn to cry on queue like that?" Nick said in astonishment.

"I taught myself how to a couple years back. It's come to be very useful in school when a teacher gets mad at me because nothing makes them feel more guilty than realizing that they've made a kid cry." Luke said with a smirk.

"That was some grade-A hustling right there Luke. I've never seen Bogo look so flustered before. That was awesome!" Nick said as he patted Luke on the back.

"Nick, don't encourage him! I just got rid of you as a con-mammal and we do not need another one that I have to fix. I do not want Luke to become your _literal_ 'partner in crime'" Judy pouted.

"C'mon Carrots. Just because I'm not a con-mammal anymore doesn't mean I don't enjoy practicing my skills from time to time. It's important that Luke knows how to be quick on his paws and to use messy situations to his advantage. Within reason of course." Nick replied.

"I just don't understand why we directly lied to our boss like that about Luke. Wait not 'we', you! I was telling the truth about Luke!" Judy said angrily.

"Exactly Carrots! We can't just be spreading the truth about Luke like its nothing! Sure, we accepted Luke and would do anything to protect him", Nick looked over at Luke who had a small smile in response to what he just heard. "Not everyone would be so accepting though Carrots! People would also be terrified if they found out that a different species was entering into the world of Zootopia from a place of primitive mammals. We do not want a massive investigation of this!"

"I guess you're right." Judy admitted. "Nice hustle Luke", she smiled.

* * *

The remainder of the shift seemed to drag for the three of them. Nick and Judy procrastinated on their reports while Luke sat in a swivel chair, spinning 100 times. After finishing this brainless activity, Luke was informed by Nick that the ZPD has a gym. Without hesitation, Luke headed over to it, borrowing a pair of gym clothes from Nick. Luke ran a couple miles on the treadmill as well as took an interest in the sparring ring for the officers. He sparred with a couple wolves and managed to win against one before seeing stars after receiving a blow from the second who was significantly larger than him. After he regained consciousness, he received some pats of the back and applause from observing officers, as it was quite impressive that he managed to knockout one let alone make it pretty far with the second.

After showering and changing, Luke returned to Nick and Judy's office as the clock read 1:00 PM, the time Nick and Judy said their shift would end. As they walked out of the ZPD, Nick started up a conversation to get themselves awake again after a boring shift.

"So, Luke, heard you knocked out officer Wolford in the sparring arena. That's quite a feat."

"Yeah, I did", Luke said, "I took martial arts for 8 years but I stopped when a couple years ago. I still have some moves though."

"Sounds like it!" Judy exclaimed. "Wolford was on a 5 match unbeaten streak in the sparring arena. He was getting a tad bit boastful but this should show him not to get too proud of himself."

"So Luke, are you excited to go shopping for clothes?" Nick said with a very strained smile.

"Yeah… can't wait" Luke said with a hint of agony in his voice as Judy parked in the lot of " _Abercrombie and Finch"_.

* * *

By the time Luke had finished shopping, he had such a great number of outfits that he wasn't sure he'd be able to fit them all in his dresser. He wasn't complaining though, Nick and Judy had been gracious enough to buy the clothes for him. He thanked them once again as the three of them hopped in the car.

"So it's about 2:30 Luke", Judy said, "I think we should head over to the school to take your placement test."

"Alright that sounds good." Luke said as they drove off.

A short while later, they arrived in front of a large, metal gate with a sign mounted on top that read "Zootopia Academy for Education: Every mammal striving for excellence." The building was very large. Luke was taken aback by its size, as he was accustomed to the smaller school setting. The three entered the main office, with Nick going to speak to the secretary.

"Hello, I'm here to bring Luke Barrett to his academic placement test", Nick told the secretary. She was a middle-aged otter who had slick brown fur.

"Oh yes!" She said, "Please follow me!"

They followed the otter to the end of a hallway where there was the open door to a classroom. A male hippo was sitting at a desk inside the classroom, which Luke could only assume to be the proctor.

"You nervous?" Judy asked.

"Little bit." Luke replied.

"Don't be." Nick assured him, "The purpose of these placement tests is to assess where you stand at an intellectual level so you can be sorted into classes based on what will challenge you. No matter where you end up, it's for the best."

"Thanks, wish me luck", Luke said as he walked into the room.

"Good luck!" Nick and Judy called after Luke as the door closed behind him.

"And now we wait" said Nick as he and Judy sat down

"How'd it go?" Judy asked as Luke walked out of the classroom.

"I personally didn't find it that hard. I was a little thrown off by questions about Zootopian history but I think I did alright. I know I nailed the math, science, and language sections." Luke replied.

"That's good!" She replied. "We should get our result within the hour and we'll see where you'll be placed."

Two hours had passed and there was no sign of the exam results. Luke started to get anxious.

"Shouldn't the results have come out an hour ago?" Luke asked worriedly. "What could be taking them so long?"

"It probably won't be that much longer", Nick tried to assure Luke but he was also anxious. Such long delays, based on his experiences, were never promising.

The door of the classroom finally opened as the hippo gestured for them to come in. They all sat down as the hippo began to speak.

"I'm sorry for the delay, but there is quite a reason behind it. I'll just put it right out there. Luke, you cannot be placed."

"Did I really do that badly?" Luke asked in shock. He didn't know what to even think anymore. He prided himself on being an academic student but he felt as if this was invalidated. He opened his mouth to speak again but the proctor noticed his distressed look and quickly butted in.

"No, it's the exact opposite in fact. You couldn't be placed because you out-tested the exam."

"I don't understand", Nick spoke for everyone when he said this.

"I mean he scored almost perfect on the exam besides a some errors in the history section. Everything else in math and science was flawless. We had content from all of the top level classes that we offer. The fact that he almost scored perfect on the placement test means that these classes won't challenge him. Sure he could still attend but I don't see what good it'll do other than to give the school more money given that he knows almost all the material. There would really be no point for him just to attend school for history class so maybe you could just teach him a bit on your own time." The proctor stated.

"Alright then, there's not much more to discuss then. Is there?" Judy asked as she looked at Luke and Nick. They both shook their heads. With that, the three of them walked out of the room in silence. Their minds still overwhelmed with disbelief.


	8. Chapter 8: A Proposition

**Author's note: I'm happy to say that this story has reached over 1,000 views! Thank you all so much for the support! Every time I sit down to write, I don't feel like it's a chore. I really enjoy putting out content for you all and I'm always excited to sit down and write a chapter. As always, please review, follow, and/or favorite. Thanks for 1K views!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 8: A Proposition

Nick, Judy, and Luke sat in the car in silence as they drove back to the apartment. None of them knew what to make of Luke's test result. Luke himself was shocked. He had thought he did well but certainly not this well. Luke realized what this meant for him and his thoughts began to run wild.

" _So I can't attend school here"_ , Luke thought. He wasn't particularly disappointed about it. Despite taking his academics very seriously, he often found the useless work that school gave to be very taxing. Instead, Luke was worried. _"So what does this mean for Nick and Judy's lives? This disrupts everything. My attendance to school was supposed to go along with their work schedule and now they're going to be spending so much time worried about me."_ Luke knew they shouldn't have to deal with this problem.

"I'm sorry" Luke said as the car came to a stop. Nick and Judy looked back with equally puzzled expressions.

"Luke, what are you sorry for?" Judy asked.

"This- this wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to create _less_ problems for you guys and now your whole lives are going to be interrupted because I can't attend the school here." Luke said, staring down as the floor of the car.

"Luke! Don't apologize for your intelligence! You're not 'interrupting' our lives. You're not causing us any stress by not attending. We can easily find another solution. Luke, we could not be more proud of you!" Nick exclaimed.

"Exactly, we'll find something else for you to do! You can just tag along with us when we go to the ZPD. The gym is always there and the precinct is right at Savanna Central so there are tons of activities you can do if you get bored." Judy assured Luke who now picked his head back up.

"I just don't want to create such a burden and it feels like that since I've arrived here in Zootopia you guys have been so preoccupied with me. I just can't stand to do that to you. You guys had everything sorted out before I arrived and now it's completely different!" Luke said guiltily as he walked out of the car with Nick and Judy.

"Luke! We wouldn't have asked you to stay with us if we didn't mean it. You are doing nothing to disrupt our lives. We're thankful that such a bright kid came into our lives. You have nothing to feel bad about son!" Nick hugged Luke while a smile appeared on Luke's muzzle. Luke knew that Nick was genuine with his comments, Luke could only be grateful for what Nick had done for him. Nick was caring for him like a father and Judy a mother.

* * *

The following day the trio woke up at 5:30 in the morning to start their routine. Luke was used to early wake-up times, as he would often have to get up early to take care of chores before his classes started. He gulped down his coffee as they hopped in the car to head to the ZPD. The early-morning was visibly affecting Nick who also happened to be behind the wheel. Judy noticed his fatigue and quickly started up a conversation to keep him awake.

"So Luke, Bogo told us yesterday that our half-shifts are going to be happening until they get the situation at the forensics lab sorted out." Judy said.

"Oh, what's going with forensics?" Luke asked

"They're short-staffed." Nick answered, "So many cases are backed up that the staff are having trouble getting to them all. Our hours are getting cut because our case is put on hold until forensics can get to it."

"Oh that's too bad. At least we'll have time to do stuff together", Luke said as the car pulled into the parking lot of the ZPD.

The day started off uneventful for all of them. Judy and Nick caught up on reports from previous cases while Luke went back to the sparring arena. He managed to win 2 consecutive rounds this time before receiving a blow from a rhino that made him decide he was done for the day. After Luke showered and changed in the locker room, he headed back to Nick and Judy's office space only to find it empty. He found a note stuck to Nick's computer.

" _Hey Luke, Carrots and I are in a meeting with Bogo. We'll be back soon. – Nick."_

Luke sat down as he stared at the clock. It was nearly 1:00 PM.

" _They should be here soon"_ , Luke thought as he stared at the clock; watching seconds tick by.

* * *

Nick and Judy sat in their office slowly typing away on their computers. Nick glanced over at the clock for the third time in 5 minutes. He was bored out of his mind. Nick glanced over at Judy who also had a very drained expression. He had never seen her this bored at work. Nick knew they had to get out in the field soon. Nick's thoughts turned to Luke. He couldn't imagine how bored he must be getting. Sure there was the gym and the sparring arena but only took so many blows to the head to make you get a little sick of it. Nick saved his work, turned off his computer, and turned to Judy.

"Carrots, I think I have a solution to help keep Luke occupied and happy, a solution that benefits us too."

"What is it?" asked an intrigued Judy.

"Well Luke is interested in medicine and he seems to also have an interest in police work. Why don't we talk to Bogo about getting him involved in the forensics lab downstairs?" Nick replied.

"Nick! That's a great idea! It'll give us more hours and he'll be on the same work-schedule as us!" Judy exclaimed but then she paused, "Wait Nick, he's still a minor though. Would they allow him?"

"Well the lab is so short-staffed that I doubt they would refuse help. I guess Luke would start out with an internship. The pay won't be great but he'll be able to earn a fair amount of pocket cash. Of course we'll need to talk to Bogo." Nick answered.

"Alright! Let's go!" Judy hopped up. Nick quickly wrote a note for Luke and they ran over to the chief's office. This was the most eventful thing that happened all day. Judy strolled up to the door of Bogo's office and knocked strongly on the wooden frame. Judy heard Bogo grunt as he got up out of his chair and opened the door.

"Hopps, Wilde. What do you want?" Bogo asked gruffly.

"Sir, we just need a moment of your time. It's in the interest of the ZPD" Judy informed the chief.

"Alright, come in" Bogo replied. Nick and Judy sat down as Bogo closed the door. Nick began to speak.

"Sir, we may have a solution to the staff shortage in forensics." Nick said.

"You have my attention Wilde"

"Why not hire an intern or two? It would speed up the process in the laboratory and it could interest them to take on future careers in forensics. It's a win for everybody. Us officers get more hours while interns get a great experience and a little money. This will reduce the congestion we have going on in the department. One person makes a huge difference." Nick stated.

"I hate to admit it but this isn't a bad idea. However one of our intern slots is already taken and the most we can have is one more. Otherwise the forensics lab will completely fall into chaos. Do you have anyone in mind?" asked Chief Bogo.

"I think Luke would be a great candidate." Judy stated. "He has an interest in medicine and also seems to be intrigued by our police work so this sort of incorporates both biology and law enforcement. He just took his academic placement test and out tested it. He scored perfect on the sections of arithmetic and sciences; the most important areas for forensics. He looks to be a very bright kid and a hard worker as well. He has also told us he has had previous lab experience."

"Very well. I can draw up the paperwork. This means you two will be able to start your full work-days again." Bogo plainly stated but he was glad to see his two top officers working brilliantly. He was very impressed that the emotional wolf he had met yesterday was so intelligent. The only other mammal he knew to out-test the placement exam was the existing intern down at forensics. He knew that these two interns would make an impressive partnership. Bogo made sure to keep his reserved demeanor despite being impressed.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, what is Luke allowed to do in this internship?" Nick asked.

"Well Wilde, Luke would obviously be doing procedures in the lab such as analyzing DNA samples but I've heard that he's taken down a fair number of my officers in the sparring ring. Because of this I may allow him to tag along in the field with you two but he MUST be under your supervision at all times because he is still a minor. He can learn to collect biological evidence at the scene but it must be under the guidance of one of our forensic officers. Is that clear?" Bogo responded.

"Yes sir" Nick said as he and Judy left with the paperwork. They couldn't wait to tell Luke.

* * *

Luke was staring off into space when he heard the door open. He saw Nick and Judy stride in with large smiles on their faces.

"Luke, we have something to tell you." Judy told him. Luke's ears perked up.

"We know you want something to do and that you're interested in areas of biology so we have a proposition. How would you like to be an intern down at the forensics lab?" Nick asked.

"Oh my god! I would love that!" Luke ran up and hugged Nick and Judy as they handed the application to him.

"Wow son, look at your tail" Nick pointed as Luke noticed he was wagging his tail very quickly.

"Wow, guess I'm getting used to my wolf-self. I hadn't even noticed!" All three of them laughed as Luke sat down to fill out the application. He filled out the information and gave it to Judy who dropped it off at Chief Bogo's office as they left the building. Nick looked over to see that Luke still had a giant smile on his face.

" _It's good that he's finally settling in"_ , Nick thought.

"So I start tomorrow?" Luke asked.

"Yep!" Judy said. "Since you joined the lab, Chief Bogo said that Nick and I will be returning to our full work-days tomorrow. We'll be on the same work schedule so we'll go to and from work together. And you will get paid. It may only be an intern salary but it's something. You'll be doing something that you have a genuine interest for and you'll also get opportunities out in the field with us."

"I can't thank you guys enough. You've done so much for me since I've gotten here I don't know how I can begin to repay you."

"You don't need to thank us for anything, son" Nick replied as he pulled Luke into a tight embrace. Together, they all got into the car and drove away from the ZPD.

* * *

Later that night, Judy wandered into Luke's room to bring a fresh batch of laundry when she saw Luke fast asleep on his bed. Judy set the clothes down by his dresser as she walked over to Luke and planted a kiss on his forehead. She turned around, switched off the lights, and lightly closed the door. She didn't notice the smile grow on Luke's resting face.


	9. Chapter 9: Partners

**Author's Note: Nothing really new to say here other than thanks for the support and to follow, favorite, and review.**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 9: Partners

The alarm clock blared at the normal 5:30 AM wake-up time. Luke immediately leapt up out of his bed and hopped into the shower. Today was the first day of his internship and he was going to make sure arrive looking ready for it. After drying his fur and brushing his teeth, he dressed in a red button down shirt with a pair of khaki pants. He looked at himself in the mirror, puffed his chest, and headed out of his room.

As Luke walked into the dining room he saw Nick and Judy already sitting there reading the newspaper. A bowl of fresh oatmeal sat on the table garnished with fresh blueberries. Luke sat down as he began to dig in to his breakfast.

"You're looking quite nice today Luke", Nick complimented.

"Thanks, I figured since it's my first day at this internship I would dress to impress." Luke replied.

"Well even without the outfit I think you'd be just fine", Judy said.

"Well I think I'd get arrested for public indecency but yeah I guess I'd be _fine_ -d" Luke said with a smirk.

"You know what I mean!" Judy laughed as she punched him in the arm.

After Luke finished his breakfast, the three of them hopped in the car and drove over to the ZPD. After they arrived, they headed straight up to Chief Bogo's office so Luke could learn his way around.

"Come in", the same gruff voice of the cape buffalo came from the room as Nick opened the door for Judy and Luke. Chief Bogo stood up and shook paws with Luke before speaking to him.

"It's uh, nice to see you again Luke" He said hesitantly, still obviously uncomfortable from Luke's emotional display a couple days back.

"Likewise Chief" Luke said confidently.

"Chief, Luke is here for his orientation. We've already toured him through most of the building so I think all you need to do is to bring him down to the lab so he can get started with his work." Nick explained.

"Very well", Bogo replied. "You two will be down for role call later? I'm sending you two to go on patrol at Sahara Square. We've gotten word that there's been suspicious activity down there. Not quite sure what it is but that's precisely why we need some eyes down there to check it out."

"Yes sir." Nick and Judy said affirmatively.

"Come on. Let's go." Bogo guided Luke out the door as he waved goodbye to Nick and Judy.

Bogo showed Luke to the elevator as he clicked the button that took them to the basement. The elevator ride was completely silent as they traveled down to the lab, not that Luke cared of course. He was nervous for his first day in the lab but was also filled with excitement. As the elevator doors opened, Bogo guided Luke down a long hallway to a pair of double doors. A large sign was posted saying "Forensics Laboratory: Authorized Personnel Only". The two walked into the lab where they were met by a tall, female leopard.

"Hi, my name is officer Clawson. You must be Mr. Luke Barrett." Clawson held out her paw.

"Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you", Luke smiled as he shook her hand.

"Alright Chief, I can show him around from here. You can go up for role call." Bogo turned around without another word and promptly walked out of the lab.

"Quite a delight, isn't he?" Clawson said as Luke chuckled. "Come on, I'll show you around the lab."

The two of them walked into Clawson's office as she took out a box with Luke's name on it.

"Here, I got this for you." Clawson smiled as she handed the box over to Luke. Luke opened it and he immediately smiled. He pulled out a white lab coat. As he held it up, he noticed "Barrett" finely embroidered in black on the right breast of the coat. He slipped it on over his shirt and he looked at himself in the mirror. The coat was a perfect fit and complimented his grey fur.

"Thank you!" Luke said to Clawson.

"No problem. You're part of the team now Luke!" Clawson said with a smile. "There are lockers right outside the lab that you can use to store your stuff. Now come on, let's go meet your partner." The two walked out of her office and walked into the main lab area. They walked past several rows of lab equipment when they approached a figure staring into a microscope.

"Sarah, this is Luke Barrett, your new partner" Clawson said as Sarah turned to face Luke. Luke was face to face with a white wolf, her fur was sleek and she had bright blue eyes. She stood up from her chair and held out her paw.

"Hi Luke! I'm Sarah, Sarah Wolford, the other intern here at forensics. It's really nice to meet you and I'm looking forward to working with you."

"I-uh-likewise, Sarah." Luke stammered. His heart was going a mile a minute. He was shocked by those electric blue eyes of hers.

"Hey, I like your shirt." Sarah replied as she pointed to the red button down Luke had purposely chosen to wear.

" _So glad I chose this shirt_ " Luke thought as he replied, "Thanks, you look nice too." He saw Sarah blush but she quickly regained her composure as she pulled up a chair for Luke.

"You wanna see what I'm working on?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, sure!" Luke exclaimed as Sarah gestured towards the microscope. He looked down through the eyepiece, quickly realizing that this was a blood sample from someone.

"Is this someone's blood?" Luke asked. He already knew the answer but he just wanted an excuse to continue the conversation with Sarah.

"Yeah! It is!" Sarah said excited. "This case belongs to officers Hopps and Wilde. It was a possible domestic abuse case where the suspect allegedly beat up his wife. She fended him off with a knife so that's where we got the blood. We'll be comparing the DNA samples of the suspect and this blood soon but I just wanted a look at the sample first because I'm really fascinated by this kind of stuff."

"Oh yeah, me too!" Luke said happily despite the brutal nature of the case.

"Say, do you know them? Hopps and Wilde? I thought I saw them walking with you in the lobby earlier." Sarah asked.

"Oh yeah, I do. I'm from out of town so I've been staying with them. They're great mammals!" Luke responded.

"Oh! So they're like your guardians. That's cool. My dad works on the force. You may know him. Officer Wolford?" She asked.

Luke's heart dropped out of his chest. " _Oh god, I knocked out her dad in the sparring ring. She is NOT going to be pleased about that_." Luke thought.

"Wait, are you the Luke that sparred him a couple days ago?" Sarah asked with wide eyes.

"Guilty as charged." Luke said as he looked down at the floor.

"Oh my god! That's hilarious! Thank you so much! My dad gets really annoying when he's on a winning streak in the arena and it's all he talks about at the dinner table. You killed it so he actually had to pick a different topic to talk about!" Sarah burst out in laughter while Luke followed after seeing such an unexpected reaction from her.

"Um you're welcome I guess" Luke said with a grin.

"So, you want to set up the test for the two DNA samples?" Sarah asked. "It's going to take a couple hours to get the samples prepped and to get the actual test site ready. Then we have to wait for the site to set so then we can grab lunch together if you have any interest."

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Luke beamed as he hopped up out of the chair and followed Sarah to the equipment storage.

* * *

The newly formed duo spent the entire morning prepping the samples and test site. What may have usually been seen as tedious work was done with complete smiles as they worked in each other's company. After everything was prepped, the clock read 12:30.

"Well that's that." Sarah said with content as she took off her gloves. "You want to go grab some lunch?"

"Yeah! I'd love to! Let me just text Nick and Judy to let them know I'll be going out." Luke took out his new Carrotphone that Judy and Nick had bought for him and quickly texted them. With that the two of them put their lab coats in their lockers and headed out to Savanna Central.

"Where do you want to go?" Luke asked.

"Oh, I know! We can go to ZFC!" Sarah exclaimed.

"What's that?" Luke asked puzzled.

"You've never heard of ZFC?!" Sarah exclaimed but Luke shook his head. "It's Zootopia Fried Crickets!"

Luke gulped, he never ate bugs when he was a human and he had been living off of purely vegetarian items since he arrived in Zootopia. However, he did not want to be rude so he simply responded; "That sounds great!"

The two of them walked into the restaurant and went to place their orders. Luke was nervous about this new culinary experience but he was willing to give it a shot. The smells certainly were enticing.

"Hi! Can I get the Crispy Cricket Combo?" Sarah asked.

"I'll have the same", Luke added.

"That'll be $10.99", responded the cashier. Sarah opened up her purse but Luke held her paw back as he pulled out some cash that Nick had given him the other day.

"Please, I insist", Luke said as he handed the cashier the money.

"Thanks Luke! That's very generous of you!" Sarah smiled as they grabbed their food and headed to a nearby table. Luke gingerly picked up a cricket with his claws. He noticed Sarah already digging in and he did not want to attract attention to himself in this way.

" _Well here goes nothing",_ Luke thought as he popped the fried morsel into his mouth. He was immediately relieved to taste a pleasant burst of flavor after crunching through the fried coating. He immediately tried dipping the next cricket into the sauce at the side and he was not disappointed. After Sarah and him finished off their meals, they sat content as they began to talk.

"So Sarah, how old are you?" Luke asked

"I'm 16." Sarah responded.

"Oh, same!" Luke replied.

"So how'd you come to be an intern here?" Sarah asked.

"Well, I recently arrived in Zootopia so Nick and Judy suggested I take the academic placement test at the school but I ended up scoring so well that the proctor said there would be no point for me to attend the school." Luke explained. "How about you?"

"I also tested-out!" Sarah exclaimed. "I was so worried about what to do next but then my dad recommended joining the forensics lab as an internship. I love medicine so I figured that it would be great to do."

"I love medicine too!" replied Luke. "Many people are grossed out by bodies and their components but it's really key to understanding who we our."

"Well said Luke", responded Sarah. "You ready to get back to the lab? We've gotta compare those samples now."

"Sure, let's head out."

The two spent the remainder of the afternoon running the procedure. By the time they finished the clock read 5:30 PM but time had flown by for both of them. They sat together as they observed the results.

"Well look at that, it was him", Sarah stated.

"Yeah, guess so. A hard day's work yields results", Luke replied.

"Hey you two. Very well done!" Sarah and Luke turned around to see Clawson standing behind them. "I can file these results up to Hopps and Wilde while you two can head up. You're done for the day."

"Alright, thanks so much for everything today Officer Clawson!" Luke said as the two removed their lab coats and exited the lab. Luke pressed the elevator button and the two waited for the doors to slide open as Sarah began to speak.

"Hey Luke, since we're going to be working together from now on, I was wondering if you wanted my number? It would be great for us to stay in-touch." Sarah asked shyly.

"Yeah! Of course Sarah! We are partners after all." Luke said as he pulled out his phone and entered Sarah's number. "Would you like my number as well?"

"Most definitely!" Sarah beamed as she entered Luke's number. The elevator doors opened and the two entered as the doors shut behind them. Sarah clicked the button to return them to the lobby of the ZPD. The two partners rode up the elevator in silence, each with a smile on their face.


	10. Chapter 10: An Almost Perfect Night

**Author's Note:** **Just wanted to announce that we've reached over 1,200 views in the US alone! In total we are past 1,800 views. Thank you guys so much for the support! Remember that this is my first story so I highly encourage that you review, as it is the only way I'll improve. Or if you just want to leave a comment about what you think of the story so far then that's also greatly appreciated. Enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 10: An [Almost] Perfect Night

Nick, Judy, and Luke sat around the dining table as they ate. Nick had picked up some pizza from "Pizza mutt", which Luke was very glad to eat. Pizza was Luke's personal comfort food even though his parents back on Earth always told him it was unhealthy. Luke crunched through the last bite of crust and walked over to the kitchen to clean up.

"So Luke, how was your first day at the lab?" Nick asked as he threw the now empty pizza box into the recycling bin.

"It was good. I got to work on a case today. Actually it was your case. That domestic abuse one?" Luke said as he cleaned off his plate in the sink. He turned to see Nick and Judy's eyebrows raid in surprise. "What?" Luke asked quizzical.

"Oh! Nothing!" replied Judy as she wiped off the table. "That's some pretty advanced stuff for your first day."

"Yeah. But Sarah and I managed to get through it easily enough. I assume officer Clawson told you about the results?" Luke asked.

"Yeah she did", answered Nick. "But onto something more important, who's Sarah?"

"Oh, she's my new partner." Luke responded as he put the last of the dishes in the washer.

"Oh! So that's who you went out to lunch with! What species is she?" Nick asked as they took a seat back at the table. "Not that it matters of course." Nick winked at Judy.

"She's a wolf too." Luke said. He could already tell where this conversation was headed but he decided not to resist it.

"So, do you like her?" Judy asked. Luke simply stayed silent and buried his face in his paw.

"Carrots! Please stop. You're embarrassing him!" Nick came to Luke's aid but then a smirk formed on his face. "But do you like her Luke?"

"Oh my god you guys are so immature. Yes I like her! Are you happy?" Luke rolled his eyes.

"Are you kidding Luke? That's great!" Judy responded.

"Are you going to ask her out?" Nick egged-on Luke which caused Luke to blush.

"I don't know! I mean yeah I guess I do but I barely know my way around here, let alone any good first-date spots." Luke said flustered. Nick just smiled as he walked over to a drawer and pulled out two pieces of paper.

"Carrots and I won these in a raffle at the ZPD a while ago but we don't think we'll get a chance to go because we'll be busy just getting back to work tomorrow. They would be much better used if you went with Sarah." Nick said as he handed Luke the two pieces of paper. Luke immediately noticed that they were concert tickets for some singer named "Gazelle".

"Thanks Nick!" Luke responded as he pocketed the tickets. "But I don't even know that Sarah likes this kind of music." This caused a big laugh from Nick and Judy while Luke just stared at them puzzled. Judy finally regained her composure while Nick was still wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"Luke, no matter who the person is, they can't refuse a Gazelle concert." Judy said.

"I'll take your word for it." Luke replied as they retired to the living room. "So what happened with your patrol earlier today?

"Nothing much" Nick said as Judy rested her head on his shoulder. "The 'suspicious activity' turned out to only be some teenagers doing some graffiti on the side of a building. Or so we thought. Apparently they were making a mural for a local business. Some mammal just reported them to the ZPD because he thought a group of teenagers in shabby clothing walking as a group 'seemed suspicious'. Still though, it's nice to have our full workdays back. I hope you'll get the chance to go out into the field sometime."

"That would be awesome!" Luke exclaimed. A while later, Luke headed off to his room to get ready for bed. He couldn't wait for the Gazelle concert tomorrow but first he had to ask Sarah. He was getting butterflies already thinking about it.

* * *

The following morning started off routine for Luke but he felt very different inside. The 5:30 AM alarm sent Luke bolting out of his bed for the shower. After drying off and brushing his teeth, he chose to dress in a bright blue button down with grey pants.

" _Same color as her eyes._ " Luke thought as he brushed the fur on his head, stuffed the tickets in his pocket, and left the room. After finishing off breakfast, he hopped in the car with Judy and Nick as they headed to the ZPD. He noticed Nick pull into a Snarlbucks at the side of the road.

"Nick, didn't we already have coffee?" Luke asked as Nick parked the car.

"Yes but I think _someone_ would appreciate it very much if you grabbed her a cup of coffee on your way to work." Nick raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yeah! That's a great idea! Thanks Nick" Luke said as he took some money from Nick and hopped out of the car. He came back several minutes later with a steaming cup of black coffee. He handed Nick the cash left over but Nick immediately shook his head.

"Keep it, you're going to want it later to treat Sarah at the concert." Nick stated as Luke pocketed the money.

"I don't even know if Sarah will say yes. Don't get ahead of yourself." Luke said.

"Luke, what did I say to you when we were at the diner that one night?" Nick raised an eyebrow.

"I'll do just fine?" Luke asked.

"You'll do just fine." Nick nodded affirmatively as the car pulled out of the lot and headed to the ZPD.

Luke hurried down to lab, hoping that Sarah wasn't working on a case right now since he couldn't bring food into the lab. To his delight, Sarah was at her locker right outside the lab. Luke took a deep breath and headed through the double doors.

"Hey Sarah, I brought you- OWWWWWW", Luke let out a howl as the double doors crunched on his tail. The sudden burst of pain almost made him drop the coffee but he managed to keep a grip on it. Sarah hurried over and pushed open the two doors that were clamped onto Luke's tail. Luke hopped forward rubbing his tail as he cursed at the doors.

"Are you alright Luke?" Sarah asked worriedly as she took a look at his tail.

"Yeah I'm fine Sarah" Luke lied. It really hurt like the dickens. Despite telling Nick he was used to his wolf-self he now admitted to himself that this was not true. He sometimes forgot about his tail, it was an extra appendage that he had to worry about after all. "I got this for you" Luke handed Sarah the cup of coffee he had miraculously not spilled. Luke got the exact reaction he wanted to see as he saw Sarah blush and her blue eyes light up.

"Thanks Luke! This is so sweet of you!" Sarah gleefully replied as her expression shifted back to Luke's tail. "Uh oh, looks like your tail is beginning to bleed. I'll grab some bandages for you." Sarah took a sip of coffee and darted out of the room. She seemed gone for only a second when she came bounding into the room with a first-aid kit in hand. She opened up the first aid kit pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and a roll of bandages.

"Alright this may sting a bit", Sarah warned as she poured a bit of disinfectant on Luke's tail. She was surprised not to hear a peep out of Luke but Luke was secretly howling like mad on the inside as his tail stung wildly. Sarah took out the roll of bandages and wrapped them around Luke's tail.

" _His fur is really soft."_ Sarah couldn't stop herself from thinking before she regained composure. Her blushing quickly faded away and she resumed doing the task at hand. She quickly finished bandaging up Luke's tail and put the first-aid kit away.

"Thanks Sarah" said Luke.

"No problem Luke. Sorry about your tail. But thank YOU for the coffee", she said as she took another sip. Luke swung his tail in front of him and looked at the white bandages wrapped around the end of his tail.

"Oh man, Nick and Judy are gonna laugh so hard at me when I tell them this _tail_ ", Luke gave his same toothy grin, his trademark at the end of every pun of his. He smiled when he saw Sarah burst into laughter.

" _It may be part pity but a laugh is a laugh"_ Luke thought as he reached his hand in his pocket and felt the two tickets. His heart rate escalated as he knew what he needed to do next. " _Well, here goes nothing."_

"Hey Sarah, are you busy tonight?" Luke asked.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well I got tickets to a Gazelle concert and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. We can go straight after work. Maybe grab a bite to eat." Luke pulled out the tickets and showed them to Sarah.

"Do you mean as a date?" Sarah asked tentatively.

"Yes, if that's okay with you." Luke replied. His heart was now racing so fast he was afraid it would give out.

"That sounds wonderful! I can't wait Luke!" Sarah beamed and gave him a tight hug. Luke felt immediately felt a wave of relief wash over him. After Luke and Sarah separated, they opened their lockers together and slipped on their lab coats as they headed into the lab. Luke felt a buzz in his pocket. He took out his phone and saw that he had a text from Nick.

" _Hey son, how'd it go?"_

Luke smiled as he typed back his response.

" _I did just fine."_

* * *

The day crawled for both Sarah and Luke. Neither of them could wait for their date that night. The concert was sure to be fantastic but both were happy enough to spend time with each other. As the clock finally reached 5:30 PM, the two hung up their lab coats and left to go get some dinner. Luke left a quick text for Nick and Judy.

" _Hey guys, Sarah and I are off to dinner and then the concert. I'll be back at about 11:00."_

The two stopped at a Pawlive Garden to eat before the concert. The two were deeply engaged in conversation.

"So have you always lived in Zootopia?" Luke asked.

"No, I moved here 5 years ago when my dad joined the force. I used to live in Wolfden, it's about a two hour train-ride from Zootopia." Sarah responded. "Where did you live before you moved here?"

Luke paused. He certainly could not tell Sarah the truth about him right now. The time would come but Luke was certainly not ready right now. He picked the first place that popped into his mind- where Judy had spent her days being raised.

"I grew up in Bunnyburrow." Luke said while Sarah's eyes widened.

"A wolf growing up in Bunnyburrow? That's something you don't hear everyday. What was it like?"

"Well, there were a lot of bunnies" Luke's response got a chuckle from Sarah as they continued to talk and eat.

The two took a cab to the concert venue after they ate. They sat in the back of the cab looking out the window, Luke's paw was resting on top of Sarah's as the sun set above the Zootopia skyline. Luke looked at the side of the road and noticed a large grey building. He turned his head back to Sarah whose eyes had the fiery amber of the sky reflected in her bright blue irises. He went to look back out of the window as they passed the building when something caught Luke's eye. He looked down to see an oddly familiar glow showing through his pocket. As he pulled the crystal pendant out of his pocket, he noticed the glow rapidly fading as the taxi kept driving on.

"Luke, what's that?" Sarah asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just a good-luck charm Nick and Judy gave me" Luke lied. He felt bad once again that he was lying but he had no choice.

"That's really sweet of them." Sarah smiled. The glow faded far too rapidly for her to take notice.

"Yeah" Luke said absent-mindedly. He slipped the crystal back into his pocket, its glow now completely gone. Luke was left staring into space.

" _Did that crystal really just glow? It's been dormant ever since I got here! Why did it start again now?"_ Luke's thoughts began to run wild.

"Hey Luke, you alright?" Sarah asked, noticing his sudden change in demeanor.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Luke smiled as he looked back at Sarah.

" _Probably just my imagination"_ Luke thought as the cab drove onward.

* * *

"Good evening Zootopia!" Gazelle called out to the audience. She was met with the cheers of the entire audience. "I want to see all your paws up at this song!" Gazelle shouted as the music began to start. Gazelle closed her eyes and began to sing.

 _I messed up tonight_

 _I lost another fight_

 _I still mess up but I'll just start again…_

It didn't take long for Sarah to grab Luke's paw as they began to dance. The animals around them cleared a space for the two of them as Luke took up Sarah's paw and spun her around.

"Give it up for these two in the crowd!" Gazelle shouted as the music of the song continued while she pointed to Luke and Sarah. The whole stadium erupted in applause as the two of them danced their hearts out together while Gazelle continued her song. As the song arrived at its conclusion with Gazelle's final utterance of "Try everything", Luke and Sarah pulled each other into a tight embrace while the stadium cheered around them. They knew it wasn't just for Gazelle.

* * *

"Luke, that was absolutely amazing. I had the night of my life. This was a truly magnificent date." Sarah said as the two walked through downtown Zootopia.

"Thanks Sarah. I was hoping you would like it." Luke replied warmly as they turned the corner to drop Sarah off at her apartment. The two walked holding paws down the street. Luke smiled as they gazed at each other. This was the definition of a perfect night. They stopped at a corner and Sarah began to speak.

"I had a great time tonight Luke I'll see you tomorrow at the lab. I'd love to do this again!" Sarah beamed.

"Likewise Sarah." Luke smiled back as Sarah began to cross the street.

The smile from Luke's face shattered in an instant as he saw the car come barreling down the street. Instinctively, Luke lunged toward Sarah and shoved her away as hard as he could toward the opposite curb as he felt the car smash into his side and send him flying across the street. Luke laid sprawled on the curb.

The last thing he remembered was Sarah crying out his name before he blacked out.


	11. Chapter 11: An Agonizing Wait

**Author's Note: Sorry to leave you all on a cliffhanger with that last chapter but it was way too tempting a chance to pass up on. Also I felt like I would just keep writing and writing and never end the chapter so I had to control myself. Please follow, favorite, and review! As always, enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 11: An Agonizing Wait

Judy and Nick sat in the living room staring at the TV as they changed the channel to ZNN. After a long day, the two of them loved to spend some time together unwinding with the news. It allowed them to catch up on the day's events after being preoccupied with their police work. As Nick put his arm around Judy and pulled her in close, Judy let out a long yawn as she glanced at the clock.

"Nick, it's 11:30. Didn't Luke say he would be back half an hour ago? I wonder what's holding him up." Judy said to her husband.

"Carrots, Luke seemed awfully smitten for Sarah. He's probably having a _very_ good time right now." Nick winked at Judy who responded by hitting him square in the arm, which caused the smirk to grow even wider on his face.

"Seriously Nick? Don't be ridiculous. He certainly doesn't seem like the kind of person to do that on a first date with someone. Shouldn't he have left us a text saying he would be late?"

"Come on Carrots, you know how easy it is to get caught up in the moment. Remember our first date when you said you needed to be back home by midnight and when we looked the clock it was 2:00 AM?" Nick replied as he switched off the television.

"I guess that's fair" Judy replied. "But he always texts us to let us know where he's heading off to."

"Like I said Carrots, I bet he's having a good time and will show up later. He has a key to the apartment so he can always let himself in… unless he comes back really drunk and passes out on our doorstep" Nick chuckled.

"If he does, can we both agree that he's going to be in serious trouble?" Judy smiled.

"You know it Carrots" Nick replied as the two got up from the couch and got ready for bed. The two of them changed into their nightclothes and brushed their teeth before lying back down in bed. They shut off their lamps on their respective nightstands as they both closed their eyes. Just as the calming silence of room began to lull them to sleep, Judy's phone on the nightstand lit up and began to blare her ringtone.

"That must be Luke!" she said as she switched on the lamp and picked up her phone. She noticed that the number was one she didn't recognize.

" _Hm. Maybe Luke's phone died and he had to borrow Sarah's."_ Judy thought as she answered her phone.

"Hello, this is Judy Hopps. Who is this?" She asked.

"Judy? It's me, James. James Wolford? Luke and my daughter Sarah went on a date tonight." He sounded very uneasy and worried over the phone.

"Oh, hi James! What can I do for you? Is everything alright?" Judy asked after hearing Wolford's tone. Something was definitely off.

"I'm fine Judy but I need you to get to the Zootopia Central Hospital right away. It's Luke. He- he's been in an accident. He was hit by a car. Judy, please hurry. Bring Nick too."

Judy felt as if the world stopped right there. She sat in her bed with her paw over in her mouth in shock. She felt as if she had been whacked with sledgehammer, all the liveliness in her was completely knocked out of her. She remained silent on her end of the line, unable to accept the horrific reality that had descended upon her.

"Judy?! Are you there! Hurry please!" Wolford was shouting through his phone as Judy snapped back to the conversation.

"Yes. I'll- I'm on my way" Judy choked out as she hung up the phone and bolted up from her bed. Tears were already welling in her amethyst eyes as she threw on a coat.

"Carrots-" Nick saw Judy's glassy eyes and he knew this was no time for nicknames. "Judy? What happened? Who was that on the phone?"

"Nick, get up and throw on some clothes. That was James Wolford, Sarah's dad. Luke is at Zootopia Central Hospital. He was hit by a car on the way back from the concert. We need to leave right now!" Judy stammered. Nick didn't waste any time as he leapt up and changed into some clothes while Judy grabbed the car keys. They raced out to the car where Nick floored the gas pedal as the two sped off towards the hospital. Neither of them had the strength to say a word as Judy broke down crying in the passenger seat. Nick had to fight off tears in his own eyes as they raced into the night.

* * *

Nick and Judy rushed through the hospital doors where they were hurriedly directed by a nurse to Luke's room in the Intensive Care Unit. As they turned the corner, no amount of preparation could brace them for what they saw next. Luke's broken figure was lying on the bed amidst a crowd of machines. Judy buried her face into Nick's chest while all he could do is stand there. It was like a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from.

"Are you Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps?" They turned to see an elephant in scrubs and holding a clipboard standing in the doorway of Luke's room. The two of them nodded silently in response.

"I'm Doctor Trunkson. I was informed by Mr. Wolford that you two are Luke's guardians."

The two nodded silently again. Neither of them wanted to speak. They were stunned into silence from what they had just seen.

"He's lucky to be alive you know. We took him out of surgery just before you came so he's going to be unconscious for a while. He suffered a ruptured spleen, which we removed, in addition to several broken ribs and a pneumothorax; a collapsed lung." The doctor informed them. "The surgery went very well. He's quite the fighter. He managed to hold through the entire thing despite being in such a condition. We'll assess the situation when he wakes up but it looks as though he'll make it through."

"Thank you doctor." Nick finally spoke up as the elephant turned and left the room. As Nick and Judy simply stared at Luke, they heard a sniff from the corner of the room, which caused them to both sharply, turn their heads. Sarah was sitting hunched over in a chair, her eyes not leaving the sight of Luke's broken figure. Judy cautiously approached Sarah.

"Are you Sarah?" Judy asked weakly. She received a light nod as a response but nothing more as Sarah remained focused on Luke. "How did this happen Sarah?"

Judy was met with silence.

Judy turned back to the door to see Wolford standing at the threshold, walked up to Nick and gave him a hug, which he then did the same to Judy before he began to speak. His voice sounded weak.

"May I speak with you two out in the hall?"

Nick and Judy nodded as they walked out into the hallway and began to talk to Wolford in the dreary light of the hospital.

"I'm very sorry about Luke. I'm very thankful that he's alright." Wolford said as he followed up with a deep breath. "Sarah's been through a traumatic experience so I'm sorry if she doesn't talk. The best we can do is to give her time. However, I saw the situation unfold from my apartment. If you would like me to, I can tell you what happened but go with whatever you feel comfortable with."

Nick and Judy looked at each other before nodding. With that, Wolford took a deep breath and he began to speak.

"I was up in my apartment as I watched the end of their date. Both of them arrived at the corner of the opposite street where they said their goodbyes. The two exchanged a few words and hugged as Sarah began to cross the street. I heard a car's roar from up the street as I saw Luke jump forward and shove Sarah out of the way while taking the full force of the car himself. I immediately called 911 and rushed down to him. Nick, Judy, Luke's a hero. He saved Sarah's life despite the likelihood of him losing his own. I honestly can't imagine the kind of pain you two are going through right now. If it had been Sarah..." Wolford trailed off as his eyes welled up with tears. "...I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Luke. His blood runs with courage. You two have a great son in him." Wolford finally broke down into tears while Judy and Nick gave each other a tight hug while they processed what Wolford had just told them.

Judy and Nick were stunned. They had no idea Luke would do something like this. Luke was willing to put it all on the line for someone he had just met a couple days ago. They thanked Wolford for helping out Luke and they walked back into the room. Nick and Judy sat on the couch together at the side of Luke's bed while Sarah's dad pulled a chair next to his daughter, whose gaze still hadn't left Luke. The four sat in silence as the hours ticked by.

* * *

Judy jolted awake. Luke was still unconscious in his bed while Nick was asleep with his head slumped against the armrest of the couch. Judy checked the time on the clock above the doorframe. It read 5:30 AM.

" _Guess I don't need an alarm to wake up for work"_ Judy thought as she went to the bathroom to wash her face off. James Wolford had already left to go to work but said he would tell Chief Bogo that Nick, Judy, and Sarah would need the next couple days off until Luke gets out of the hospital. She was thankful that James was there for them. Through her time as an officer she hadn't known much outside of who he was beyond his persona at work but Judy was glad she could count on him as he proved himself here.

As Judy returned to her chair, she looked over at Sarah who was still slumped over in her chair. Her gaze was unchanged from before; still focused on Luke.

"Sarah? You're still here?" Judy asked concerned. Sarah looked like she had not slept a wink all night. She had bags under her bloodshot eyes.

"Yeah" Sarah responded, speaking her first word since the accident.

"You should go home Sarah. Go home and get some sleep and we'll call you if anything happens."

"No." Sarah replied, her eyes still not moving off of Luke.

"Then at least sleep here in the hospital." Judy persisted.

"No." Sarah was unmoved by Judy's persuasion.

"Why not Sarah?"

"I was the last thing he saw when he was almost killed so I need to be here for him when he wakes up." Sarah said flatly. Judy knew there was no way she was going to win this argument.

"Sarah, your house is not that far from here. You can go sleep for a couple hours and then come right back here." Judy begged.

"I can't leave"

"Why not Sarah?" Judy asked but she already knew the answer.

"I- I love him. I know it's soon but I can't stand to see him gone. I feel whole when he's around me. Everything just lights up. I can't just let him be alone after what happened, after something that was my fault. When our date ended everything felt fantastic. I thought about kissing him right then and there but I was just scared so all I did was hug him and say 'goodnight'. Next thing I know, I see Luke lying on the side of the road. I thought he was dead Mrs. Hopps! This is all my fault and I don't even know how I could look at myself in the mirror if he did really die" Sarah's eyes began to well with tears but her gaze upon Luke remained unchanged.

"I know he loves you to Sarah. He talked about you to us just. I remember overhearing Nick talking to his mom on the phone about me and he talked exactly the same way. You two are clearly in love and that's not a bad thing. And what happened last night is in no way your fault. Luke would never forgive himself if you were the one hit by that car so he did exactly what he knew he had to do to stop it, no matter the cost. If you were the one hit and he continuously blamed himself about it, how would you feel?"

Sarah shook her head, "I would feel awful."

"Exactly, I know he would feel the exact same way if he saw you treating yourself like this. This is no one's fault but the driver's." Judy assured Sarah.

Sarah's eyes perked up as she heard Luke stir in his bed. Judy and Sarah ran over to Luke's side while all the commotion caused Nick to wake up. Quickly realizing what was going on, Nick leapt up from the couch and joined them. Luke's eyes began flutter open while Nick, Judy, and Sarah waited nervously. As Luke opened his eyes the first thing he saw were three faces staring down at him.

"Wow, you guys just love to _drive_ right through my personal-space bubble" Luke said weakly as he displayed that classic toothy grin.

"For Pete's sake Luke! Don't make freaking puns about your tragic accidents!" Nick said but he let out a slight chuckle. If Luke was joking around, he must be feeling alright given the extent of his injuries.

"Luke! You had us worried sick!" Judy said as she reached down to hug Luke.

"Ow! Ow Mom! Ribs!" Luke cried out as Judy immediately let go when she remembered Luke had broken ribs.

"Wait did you just call me 'Mom'?" Judy asked surprised.

"Yeah, I kind of consider us family. I hope that's okay." Luke responded.

"Of course it is Luke!" Judy responded. She had to resist to not hug Luke but after all they had been through it was not very easy. Judy turned and noticed Sarah was completely silent this whole time. Nick noticed Luke and Sarah staring at each other and quickly spoke up.

"Hey Carrots, maybe we should give these two a little privacy to talk". Judy nodded in agreement as the two walked out of the room. The two stood in silence for a while until Sarah sat down on Luke's bed and began to speak.

"I'm really glad you're okay Luke."

"Yeah, it's nice to not be… you know, dead." Luke gave a little grin but the room quickly returned to silence.

"Can I ask you something Luke? Why did you do that for me? Why did you chose me over you?"

Luke paused before speaking. "I don't know Sarah." But the truth was that he did know. He loved Sarah but he just wasn't sure that he could say it.

"Luke, I think you do know. Please don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you Luke." Sarah placed her paw on top of Luke's. Luke took a deep breath spoke.

"I love you Sarah" He finally let out. It felt good to say it out loud.

Sarah smiled back at him as her blue eyes lit up for the first time since Luke's accident. "I love you too Luke."

"Luke, you saved my life. Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? It's the least I can do." Sarah asked.

"I think I'm as good as I can be Sarah. I'm glad that you came to visit. I just have to wait for my injuries to heal." Luke replied.

"Well I think I know something that would help." Sarah answered.

"What's that?" Luke asked curiously. Sarah scooted closer as she leaned in and kissed Luke full on the lips. Luke was at first startled, it was his first kiss after all but he closed his eyes and enjoyed every bit of it until Sarah pulled away.

"You feeling better yet?" Sarah asked with a slight smile.

"I don't know…" Luke said with a hint of content. "I might need to double-check to see if that worked."

The two locked lips again as Sarah ran her paw through the fur on Luke's head. She enjoyed every bit of its softness as they concluded their kiss.

"Yeah, I am feeling better" Luke said as Sarah continued to run her paw through Luke's fur.

Luke and Sarah had gotten the kiss they never got a chance to get the night before.


	12. Chapter 12: Taking it Easy

**Authors note: Hey guys! I just wanted to make a quick announcement. I feel that the title of my story is a bit too bland so I was considering it naming the whole story the same as the first chapter: "Zootopia: An Unexpected Encounter". I wanted to know what you guys thought of this since this story relies on your support. Should I stick with "Zootopia: A New Adventure" or switch to "Zootopia: An Unexpected Encounter"? Let me know what you think but I'll keep it the same for now. Also please review, follow, and favorite. It's really great to see the positive comments I've been getting from you guys so if you enjoy, it means a lot to me to see a new follower or person who has favorited. With that, I give you chapter 12 of "Zootopia: A(n) (Something)". Enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 12: Taking it Easy

The recovery period was agonizing for Luke, and not just because he had several broken ribs, but because he was bored out of his mind. The first few days after his accident were the worst in his opinion because he spent all his time in the hospital. Nick and Judy visited as much as they could but Chief Bogo soon requested that they come back to work. Sarah, too, had no choice but to return back to the lab with the forensics department being so short-staffed. Luke being out and Sarah coming to visit him had caused a virtual standstill in the lab, as they loved their work so much that they would end up getting a significant amount done in one day. This left Luke to himself most of the day, with Sarah coming to visit him during her lunch break and Nick and Judy visiting during the evenings. He found some entertainment in his phone and throwing a bouncy ball at the wall and catching it as it flew back but besides that he was bored out of his mind. Luke took out the crystal pendant and he turned it over in his paw. It hadn't glowed since the cab ride that Sarah and him had taken to the concert.

" _Did it really glow?_ " Luke asked himself. The doubt was invading his mind like a virus. He could have sworn he saw it glow that night but now he wasn't so sure of himself. He heard of stories where people were separated from their families and began to imagine their family as if they were right there with them. This crystal was the only link he had to his old family.

" _Could this be my mirage?"_ Luke thought but he quickly dismissed the thought. He knew what he saw.

* * *

A week after Luke's accident, he was finally allowed to leave the hospital. Doctor Trunkson told Luke to ice his torso daily to help ease the pain and gave Luke specific instruction to take deep breaths it in order to avoid lung damage or pneumonia. As Luke changed out of his hospital gown he stared at his naked body in the bathroom mirror. The swelling on his chest had definitely gone down but understandably his ribs still ached severely. Luke noticed his emaciated figure as his ribs were showing through his fur. The doctors were concerned about his dramatic drop in weight but it was all thanks to the hospital food. Luke had chosen to starve himself during his stay rather than to force down the unappetizing menu the hospital provided.

Nick and Judy were there to pick him up from the hospital that evening. Luke's smile immediately grew as he smelled a very pleasant smell wafting from a bag that Nick was carrying in his paw.

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad." Luke smiled at them as they stood at the doorway of his room. Both their grins grew as they heard Luke's names in reference to them. They still hadn't gotten over the fact that the family that the two of them had been thinking about for the past few years was now a reality.

"Luke, you're looking so much better since when we first saw you here! You've really regained your strength quickly!" Nick exclaimed.

"Thanks Dad. My ribs still hurt a ton but I'm hoping to get back to work soon." Luke replied warmly. He was very glad to see the two of them while he was standing up. He felt very demoralized having to face them while he was propped up in the bed, especially when the two of them had to sit down just to be at eye-level with him.

"Oh Luke! I'm so glad you're finally coming home. The apartment just felt absolutely empty without you." Judy beamed at Luke.

"Carrots, I was there with you every night!" Nick argued.

"Precisely" Judy retorted which received a chuckle from Luke. But with the condition of his ribs he winced in pain as he laughed. Judy took notice to this immediately. "Oh, I'm sorry for making you laugh Luke! I assume this means you're in no condition for a hug?"

"Probably not but a light one shouldn't be a problem" Luke gestured for them to come. It wasn't exactly a hug but more like an entanglement of limbs as Nick and Judy looped their arms around Luke's back and leaned in slightly. None of them complained about it though as they left the hospital.

"You grabbed my pain medication from the pharmacy, right Mom?" Luke asked as Nick started up the car.

"Yeah, that reminds me. You're not supposed to take it on an empty stomach but I have that covered." Judy said as she handed Luke the fragrant bag. Luke unrolled the folded paper top and immediately grinned. He saw the boxes full of fried crickets as well as sealed cups with a colorful array of sauces.

"Wow, you guys know exactly what I want after a week of hospital food. Are these from ZFC?" Luke asked as his stomach began to grumble. He popped a cricket in his mouth to satisfy his growling stomach but that just made him want more.

"You know it!" Nick replied. "Doctor Trunkson said the best thing for broken bones is protein and Sarah told us how much you liked ZFC so we made sure to deliver. We got enough to give you some leftovers for tomorrow."

"Thank you guys so much! Hospital food was really starting to _bug_ me." Luke said as he held up a cricket in front of Judy's face.

"Luke, crickets are insects. Not bugs. At least make an effort to make sure your puns are factually accurate" Judy replied with a roll of her eyes as the car drove off from the parking lot of the hospital.

The three of them arrived at the apartment a while later, which Luke was very glad to be at. He was sick of remaining in the same dreary room for days on end. The pain of his ribs was still exceptional so Nick had to help Luke up out of the car. As the three of them sat down of the table to eat dinner, Nick and Judy couldn't help but notice the mountain of food on Luke's plate.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to eat all that?" Nick asked with his eyes wide, astonished at the amount of food on Luke's plate. "This food is quite a bit richer than the hospital food and you don't want to get sick on your first night back."

"I'll definitely be able to eat it all! I've barely eaten this last week and just like Doctor Trunkson said, I need the protein. I won't get sick." Luke assured them as he began to dig in to the mound of food.

Nick and Judy just shared a glance. They knew that Luke was in for a rough night ahead of him with Judy having spent her fair share of time in the hospital after the night howler case. She too had refused to eat the hospital food and when she finally returned home, the richness of the food made her sick to the point where she would be repulsed every time she saw the same food in front of her. The two of them wanted to spare Luke from this fate so as he got up to go get a drink, they quickly scooped a fair portion of his food back into the box. They finished just as Luke returned from the kitchen.

"See? I told you I would go through what was on my plate!" Luke exclaimed as he finished off the remainder of the food on his plate. He failed to notice the drastic reduction of his portions.

"Yeah, look at that!" Judy exclaimed as she tried to hold in her laugh.

"Thanks for dinner guys. That really hit the spot." Luke said as slowly got up to wash his plate in the sink. Nick noticed the grimace of pain on Luke's face and immediately spoke up.

"Luke, thank you but you don't have to do that. You're just recovering! You should be taking it easy." Nick told Luke as he grabbed the plate from Luke and guided him back towards his chair. Luke immediately frowned. He always looked for opportunities to help those around him but being forced to sit down made him feel useless. His time in the hospital hadn't helped either. But instead of insisting on helping he took his seat alone at the table while he watched Nick and Judy clean up.

"Speaking of taking it easy, when can I get back to the lab?" Luke asked. He missed spending his days down in the cold lab while he sat at a lab bench. He missed the feel of his lab coat against his fur. But most of all he missed working with Sarah. The two were a remarkable partnership in the lab and Luke missed the full days that they spent together. Sarah had come to visit him at the hospital but the lunch break visits were often so brief that neither of them got to discuss anything in depth. The days crawled for Luke when he had nothing productive to do so, naturally, he couldn't wait to get back to work.

"Wow Luke, you sure are stubborn" Judy chuckled. "Bogo and Clawson both decided that it would be best that you take one more week for the pain in your ribs to subside a little more. After that you can return but ONLY for work in the lab. Then you'll have four weeks until you can do some work on the field but Bogo wants to assess you in the sparring ring first to make sure you haven't lost your skillset."

Luke groaned. He was greatly anticipating his first experience in the field but the accident put his excitement on hold. Five more weeks out certainly dampened his spirits but at least it was only one more week until he could return to the lab.

"What about Sarah? Has she gone to the field yet?" Luke asked. During Luke's time in the hospital Sarah had informed him that she had been taking basic lessons in the sparring ring, courtesy of her dad, so she could get cleared to join Luke in the field. She easily passed her assessment so she was just waiting for her first call-up.

"No, not yet." Nick replied. "She refuses to go until you're fully recovered. She wants your first experience in the field to be together."

Luke immediately objected. "That's ridiculous! Why would she do something like that?"

"Maybe because you did something far greater for her?" Judy responded. She saw Luke shake his head in acceptance and she knew she hit it right on.

* * *

To Luke's expectation, the next week crawled by. Most of the time he spent by reading up on the greatest forensic feats that the ZPD had accomplished and watching the collection of movies that Nick and Judy had but he quickly tired of both these activities. He was then left to his thoughts. Luke, once again, was plagued by the enigma of the crystal pendant on the drive to the concert. He found himself spending hours just staring at it in contemplation. He still hadn't told Nick and Judy about the crystal that one night.

One evening, Luke found himself holed up in his room. He stared at the pendant deeply, lost in unrelenting thought. A sudden noise brought Luke's attention back and he quickly stuffed the pendant back in his pocket and turned around to see Nick standing at the doorframe.

"Hey Luke, is everything alright?" Nick asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm good" Luke replied rather hastily. The pendant seemed to grow heavier in his pocket.

"What do you have with you in your pocket?" Nick asked. Luke seemed very fidgety when Nick had entered the room.

Luke took out the pendant and held it up. "Just thinking about my human family. It's great here but the truth is I've been missing them a lot lately."

"I understand Luke. But you shouldn't isolate yourself like this. It's only going to make you feel worse."

"You're right." Luke replied as he put on a fake smile. Nick helped him up off his bed as Luke slipped the pendant back into his pocket.

* * *

When the week finally dragged to a close, Luke could not have been more excited to start work. He slowly climbed out of bed. The pain in his ribs was still very prominent. He hobbled over to the shower where he cleaned him self up. After getting all dressed, he walked out to the dining table to see a note from Nick and Judy lying on the table.

 _Luke, we had to head in early to go work on a case so you if it's okay please take a cab. Call us if you need to stay home or if you're hurting really badly but we have breakfast for you in our office. – Love, Nick and Judy_

Luke filled a thermos with coffee and headed out of the apartment. He was perplexed by Nick and Judy's random exit but he was glad that they knew they didn't have to baby him through his recovery. Luke left with plenty of time before work started knowing his condition would greatly slow his way to work. Even though he was only a couple blocks from a main street in the city, he knew it would take a little bit more effort to get there. As he reached the curbside outside his apartment, he was thankful to see a taxi parked right outside the building. He walked up to the cab and knocked on the window to alert the driver, who was busy reading a newspaper. The driver jumped to see Luke standing outside his window. After putting down his newspaper, he rolled down the glass pane to talk to Luke.

"Lemme guess, ZPD?" He asked gruffly.

"Um yeah, how did you know?" Luke asked curiously.

"Your parents gave me a call and had me wait outside the apartment. Surprised you were down so quickly. I broke my ribs when I was a kid and didn't wanna travel anywhere. I was expecting to be waiting a whole lot longer." The driver said as Luke hopped in. He started up the cab and they were on their way. The drive there was quiet but Luke didn't mind. He had been in the apartment all week. He gazed out the window as the sun's orange rays shined through the windows of the cab. He watched as the water droplets from the morning dew streaked across the window of the car. He was glad to be back outside.

Luke slowly climbed out of cab as the driver parked in front of the ZPD. Luke took out his wallet but the driver quickly waved it away, informing him that Nick and Judy had already paid for the cab. Luke thanked the driver and headed into the building.

As Luke opened the doors, Luke was startle by the silence in the atrium. He glanced around and saw there was not a soul in sight. Luke, understandably confused, hurried to the office-section of the ZPD. He opened the door and was taken aback by the wall of darkness that was in the room. Luke blindly felt around for the light switch, which he flicked up with his claw as the room illuminated.

"SURPRISE!"

The group of people and the wall of sound shocked Luke. He gasped which did not do any favors for the pain in his ribs. The crowd was confused to see Luke's wince of pain while Nick and Judy ran up to him.

"Oh sorry Luke! Are you alright?" Judy asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Luke said as he straightened himself up. "What's all this for?"

"Well son, this whole department is really grateful for what you did for Sarah. You saved one of our own and that can't go without recognition. So we just through this little get-together before work started. And we do have breakfast for you!" Nick said as he handed Luke a large serving of coffee cake.

"Thank you guys. I mean it." Luke said as the crowd cheered. He looked up to see the smiling faces of Sarah, Mr. Wolford, Clawson, Clawhauser, Fangmeyer, Delgato… and Bogo? No. A smile was maybe not the right word for Bogo's expression but he did look more pleased than his usual self. As the conversation started, Luke became more acquainted with a number of the unfamiliar faces that were there. The party went on for an hour before Chief Bogo finally broke it up by directing the officers to the debriefing room for role call. All that were left were Luke and Sarah, Sarah was over by the refreshment table getting a cup of coffee while Luke sat in the corner nibbling at some fruit salad. Sarah walked over to Luke and took a seat right next to him, taking notice of his vacant stare.

"Luke, is something wrong? Are you in pain?" Sarah asked.

"No, it's not my chest. Nothing's wrong." Luke said bluntly.

"Luke, part of me being your girlfriend is that you need to tell me what's bothering you. That's the only way I can help." Sarah said while giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I just want this whole car incident to be behind us. I spent so long just waiting to get back to you. I just want to return to the way things were before. I didn't say anything back there because I didn't want to seem ungrateful." Luke said as he looked back at Sarah.

"I know Luke, but normal is boring. And no matter what this incident is always going to be in our lives. But things will become less chaotic soon. We aren't going to be partying forever. So live it up while you can!" Sarah smiled as she popped a slice of apple from Luke's plate into her mouth. "Now, come on. We've got work to do."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey all. Sorry I didn't get a chance to upload yesterday! I was busy with company coming into town. On top of that I've also been studying for my SAT's but I'm still on summer break so my upload schedule should be fairly consistent. Don't forget to follow, fav, and review. See you guys next time!**


	13. Chapter 13: Fight

**Author's Note: I've got chapter 13 right here for all you superstitious people. Also, props to you if you get the restaurant reference. Don't forget to follow, fav, and review! As always, enjoy!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 13: Fight

Once Luke returned to work in the lab, the four more weeks of waiting until his assessment seemed to fly right by. Sarah and him had gone back to their productive partnership in the lab and solving cases for them was not a question of "if" they could do it so much as "when" they could do it. The return to work seemed to have reinvigorated Luke. He returned to his post-accident self, showing his bright personality each day in the company of Sarah. The two of them had actually gotten so skilled at their lab work that they heard through the grapevine that Clawson recommended them for a promotion but Bogo had shot it down, insisting that they were too young and needed to be at least 18 years of age before he would even consider them. Despite this, Bogo was still impressed. The ZPD had reached a level of productivity that they had not seen in years and a lot of it was thanks to these two interns breezing through cases down at the lab. He knew that these two were destined for great things and they would be excellent additions when the time comes.

Luke and Sarah were walking in the park during their lunch break. They had grabbed a couple of tacos from the restaurant "Moles" and decided to enjoy the nice weather. The two paused to watch a young giraffe skip stones in the stream only then to take a giant rock and throw it in the water and get himself soaked. The two giggled as they continued to stroll through the park as the sun reached its peak overhead.

"So Luke, tomorrow's your sparring assessment. How are you feeling?" Sarah asked as she crumpled up the tin foil of her lunch as tossed it into a nearby garbage can.

"I'm feeling alright I guess. I mean the pain in my ribs is gone so I've been practicing but I'm a bit nervous." Luke replied.

"Well that's understandable" Sarah assured him as they sat down on a bench and gazed at the emerald foliage. "You'll be fine though. The way they did the test for me was that they had two volunteers and then Bogo chose one. Don't worry about the volunteers though. Bogo only allows volunteers within reason. Since you're not going to be going out in the field on a daily basis and you'll have the protection of other officers, the volunteers will be roughly at your skill-level. But the one Bogo chooses is a different story. He purposely chooses someone who will be difficult for you to fight, just in case you got involved in a sticky situation out there. He usually chooses them a couple days in advance."

Luke's mind started to race as his thoughts immediately gravitated towards the rhino that had knocked him out in one of his first times in the sparring ring.

" _Could that be the person Bogo chooses for me?"_ Luke panicked as his thoughts continued to circulate in his mind before Sarah brought him back to reality.

"Anyways" Sarah restarted the conversation as she put her arm around Luke. "You have nothing to worry about. Instead, be glad that our first outing to the field will be soon."

"Yeah, we'll get our call-up soon." Luke said as he relaxed back into the bench.

* * *

The morning of Luke's assessment finally arrived. He was instructed by Bogo to arrive one hour early so the assessment would not disrupt the normal workday. The 4:30 AM wakeup was brutal for Luke, who had a restless night, but he knew the adrenaline would kick in. Luke got dressed in his workout clothes and sat himself down in front of the breakfast that Nick and Judy had made for him; a large bowl of oatmeal with fresh blueberries on top. The carbs were just what Luke needed before his sparring matches. Luke began to dig in while Nick and Judy joined him at the table.

"So son, you nervous?" Nick asked as he took a gulp of coffee. They decided to come early as well to support Luke.

"Yeah, I am." Luke said as he took another bite of oatmeal as the tartness of a blueberry burst across his tongue.

"Well, it's okay to be nervous and you know why?" Nick asked him.

"Why's that?" Luke asked puzzled. Nick simply raised his eyebrows and Luke immediately replied.

"I'll do just fine?"

"Exactly. Don't worry about the outcome. You just give it your absolute all and that's simply all you can do. The result is not in your control." Nick replied as he took another swig of coffee.

The ride over to the ZPD was quiet. The sun had not yet risen over the city. Luke was very on edge for his assessment today. Sarah had told him that a good number of officers were coming in early to watch. Many of them had heard about Luke's success in the ring despite his lack of training and they wanted to check it out for themselves. Maybe some of them wanted the prospect at challenging Luke during his assessment. Luke knew he would soon find out whom he would be up against.

Luke entered the gym and saw the crowd of about 30 officers. His heart nearly stopped beating as he tried to take in the crowd. He saw the crowd of large mammals and he was very overwhelmed. Judy and Nick saw this and quickly came to his aid.

"Luke, it's going to be okay. None of these mammals, even the ones who fight you, are rooting against you. They want you to succeed but they are just trying to make sure you are ready for the field. You go and prove them that you are. You may not be able to see us behind these large mammals but we'll be here for you the entire time." Judy assured Luke as she gave him a tight embrace.

"Thank you." Luke said as he took a deep breath and walked onto the arena. He felt the eyes of the crowd focus on him.

"Alright." Chief Bogo spoke authoritatively. "Welcome to Luke Barrett's field sparring assessment to determine whether he is suitable for field action. You all know the rules, he must win all three rounds to be deemed "fit" for field-duty. Are you ready for your first match, Barrett?"

"Yes sir." Luke replied as he put in his mouth guard.

"Very good. Who is our first volunteer?" Bogo scanned the crowd as a sea of paws shot up into the air. Bogo didn't hesitate to choose.

"You! Wolford" Bogo said while pointing to Sarah's father. Luke immediately eyed Sarah who was standing right next to her father. Her face was racked with anxiety but she silently stared back at Luke and gave him a firm nod. Mr. Wolford walked up onto the arena floor and shook Luke's paw firmly as he slipped in his own mouth guard.

"Alright, may the best mammal win" Bogo said as he rung the bell.

Wolford was on Luke in a flash. Luke immediately took a blow to his face. It wasn't the hardest punch he's received from Wolford, having fought him once before. However, it did well to catch Luke off-guard. Luke regained his bearings just as Wolford went in for another jab. Luke did just enough to avoid getting it but he received snickers from a few of the officers who took notice of Luke's evasive tactics. Luke kept bouncing on the balls of his feet while Wolford shifted his hips to go for another jab. Luke saw it coming all the way. Luke quickly shifted his weight and launched himself back to avoid the punch. Wolford, only making contact with air, wobbled with his sudden loss of balance. Luke seized the moment and landed a clean uppercut to Wolford's jaw. Wolford tumbled like a ton of bricks. It was a clean knockout by Luke, who remained emotionless on stage. His view shifted to Sarah. She saw Luke standing over her unconscious father and remained completely silent, void of all emotion.

"First match to Barrett." Bogo declared as the crowd applauded. He scanned the crowd for Nick and Judy but couldn't find them anywhere. He knew they were watching though. "Who is next?" Bogo asked, his voice echoing through the gym. Considerably less paws shot up this time after seeing what Luke was capable of.

"Delgato! You're up!" Bogo shouted as he pointed to the male lion. He walked proudly onto the arena floor and shook paws with Luke.

"Good luck. You're gonna need it" Delgato said as he slipped in his mouth guard.

"Bring it" Luke spat back. Luke's adrenaline was going now. His brown eyes showed a fiery look of determination as Bogo rang the bell.

Now it was Luke who made the first move. He darted in and landed a few quick, successive blows to Delgato's snout before retreating. Delgato gave a smirk as he went for his own attack, landing a heavy blow to Luke's temple. Luke shook it off and quickly went for a hook to the side of Delgato's head, which only momentarily fazed him. Delgato quickly countered with a back-fist to Luke's cranium that sent Luke toppling over. The crowd gasped as Delgato walked over to Luke to finish the job. Luke put both his legs up as Delgato launched himself towards Luke. With that, Luke delivered a powerful kick to Delgato's chest and he was sent flying to the other side of the ring. Luke bounded up as he heard the air leave Delgato's chest but hesitated to strike when Delgato raised up his open paw to signal Luke to stop. Bogo spoke up immediately.

"That's a forfeit by Delgato. Second match goes to Barrett." Bogo announced as the crowd burst into applause. Two officers helped Delgato off the stage before Bogo began to speak again, introducing the final round.

"Alright, settle down. This last round is my choice. I had the pleasure of informing this candidate that he would be fighting a couple days ago. Officer, you know who you are. Please come up to the ring!" Bogo's voice boomed as a hush fell over the crowd. Luke turned to see the large mammals making way for his new opponent as he made his way towards the stage. As the figure hopped up on the stage, Luke's jaw dropped as his hazel eyes met the emerald green irises of his opponent. Luke saw no movement on the face of the auburn fox that stood before him. Nick's eyes were determined and cold.

"D-Dad?" Luke stuttered in hushed exclamation. Nick didn't respond, not even with a handshake as he slipped his mouth guard in. Luke followed in suit.

"Alright Barrett, you ready?" asked Bogo. Luke stared his opponent down and nodded.

"Wilde, you ready?" Bogo turned to Luke's opponent. Nick didn't even acknowledge Bogo with anything more than a nod. Bogo struck the bell and the crowd fell silent.

The two stayed bouncing on the balls of their feet. They took a couple seconds to study each other before Nick lunged in at Luke, landing a blow right to his ribs. Luke felt the air rush out of him as Nick made a precise connection with his abdomen. Luke stumbled back as he tried to regain his composure. Nick, however, was unrelenting. Successfully landing blow after blow onto Luke who could do nothing to get out of the way. Luke was quick but Nick was simply quicker.

"Please Dad." Luke croaked as Nick paused before landing another punch. Luke tasted the metallic flavor of his own blood. The crowd gasped.

"Is that a forfeit?" Nick asked gruffly. His cold tone remained unchanged.

Luke paused before huffing out an affirmative "no". He got back up to the cheers of the crowd as the two began to fight again. Nick attempted to land an uppercut to the underside of Luke's muzzle but Luke slid out just in the nick of time. Luke, now reinvigorated by the crowd, landed a firm blow to the side of Nick's skull. Nick was visibly jarred but continued to fight back. However Luke was fired up. As Nick went in for another charge, Luke landed a blow square to his chest that made Nick stop dead in his tracks. Nick could only watch as Luke jumped up and swung his leg around. Luke felt his heel made contact with Nick's head and heard the thud of Nick on the floor of the ring, unconscious. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers as Nick was carted off the stage. Bogo entered the ring to signal the conclusion of Luke's assessment.

"Alright, settle down! Having won all 3 matches, please congratulate Luke on passing his assessment. Luke, congra-" Luke didn't bother staying to hear the rest as he took of his gloves and ran out of the arena. The doors slammed closed behind him.

* * *

Luke sat at the bench in the park, the same bench where he and Sarah had sat down the day before during their lunch break. Luke glanced at his watch. He'd been sitting there for 5 hours. It was completely silent around him besides the rustle of the leaves above him. He sat staring at the overcast sky, his mind void of all thoughts.

His head turned sharply to see Sarah and Judy walking together through the park. They hurried over the moment they saw Luke sitting on the bench.

"Luke! I'm so glad you're alright!" Judy exclaimed as Sarah and her hugged him tight. Luke turned to Sarah, his tail was tucked between his legs and his ears were low against his head.

"I'm sorry about your dad, Sarah. That was my fault." Luke said monotonously.

"Oh Luke! None of it was your fault! You just did your job! He wouldn't have volunteered if he didn't know what he was getting into. He probably respects you more for showing that courage back there." Sarah leaned in to hug him again but he pulled away.

"What I did back there wasn't brave. It was stupid. I let my emotions get the best of me. I- I aimed to hurt Nick" Luke said as he turned to Judy as his eyes filled with tears.

"Sarah, can you just let Luke and I talk alone for a second?" Judy asked.

"Of course Mrs. Hopps." Sarah replied as she walked over to the stream. Judy turned to Luke and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Mom, I was happy here. I was beginning to consider this my new home. But-but now? What happened back there was twisted." Luke buried his head into his paws.

"I know Luke, that was the point. The point of the assessment was to see if you could handle yourself in a situation like that. You needed to abandon personal relations in order to ensure your own well-being. I know it's twisted, but it's designed to be that way." Judy explained to a visibly distraught Luke.

"Then why did Nick want to hurt me? He was void of all emotion and simply went after me with no hesitation?" Luke sniffed as the tears soaked his fur.

"You think he wanted to hurt you? He protested so much when Bogo told him that he would be fighting you. He didn't sleep for the nights leading up to the fight. Burying his emotions was all he could do to will himself to get up on that stage and fight. He cares for you Luke, just like I do. He would never want to hurt you." Judy replied as Luke began to sob.

"Do you think he's mad at me? For that kick I did?" Luke stammered as Judy shook her head.

"Not at all Luke. I bet he's proud that you found the strength to will yourself to do that. Now tell me, why would you think this place isn't your home anymore? What's with the sudden change of thought?" Judy asked as Luke sniffled and wiped away his tears. He pulled out his crystal pendant before he began to explain to Judy what happened on that first date with Sarah.

"I assume Nick told you about this?" Judy nodded in response. "The pendant hadn't glowed ever since I arrived in Zootopia. That was until my first date with Sarah on our cab-ride over to the concert, when I could have sworn it was glowing when we passed a certain building. I saw it glow and I thought- I thought it might be my way home."

"Luke! You knew about this damn thing for six whole weeks and you didn't let Nick nor I know?! Why the hell didn't you tell us?!" Judy was shocked. She couldn't fathom why Luke would hold this information from her. Luke simply stared back at Judy until he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Mom, I've been happy here, something that I struggled to find when I was a human. I often felt lost, as if there was something wrong with me. I was never sure of myself and I was often depressed. But when I came here it was like a fresh start. I met you guys and Sarah and I just thought…" Luke trailed off as his gaze wandered over to Sarah.

"You thought you might want to stay" Judy said as she looked into Luke's hazel eyes. He nodded; gaze still uncertain. "Luke, we'll cross that bridge when the time comes. If you can get home then you'll know what choice to make. You'll know what's right for you."

"Thanks Mom, I love you" Luke replied as he hugged Judy.

"I love you too." Judy replied as the two got Sarah and left the park just as the few rays of sun poked their way through the clouds.


	14. Chapter 14: Stay or go?

**Author's Note: Just wanted to remind you guys that in chapter 12 I posted an author's note about the title. I haven't gotten any feedback yet so I will keep it as is but if you haven't seen what I am considering changing my title to then please go check out chapter 12! Other than that, please enjoy chapter 14 and please follow, fav, and review!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 14: Stay or go

Luke walked with Judy that evening to their cubicle at the ZPD to see Nick sitting at the desk in his cubicle. He was holding an ice pack to the side of his head where Luke had kicked him while he typed with one paw on the computer. He turned sharply when he saw Luke and Judy standing at the entrance of his office space. He quickly logged out of his account while Luke began to speak to him.

"Hey Dad, I'm sorry about hurting you back there." Luke hung his head down while Nick's emerald eyes, in contrast to the fight, were now full of warmth and sympathy.

"Luke, you shouldn't be sorry" Nick said as he got up to comfort Luke by putting his arm around his shoulder. "You did exactly what was expected of you. I'm impressed that you had what it took to land that knockout blow on me. And you passed your assessment! Congrats son!"

"Thanks Dad." Luke showed a small smile before Judy spoke up.

"Luke, is there something you need to tell Nick?" Judy shot a glance at Luke.

"Oh yeah. Dad, there's something really important that I have to tell you about." Luke said as he took out the pendant. "Remember the night we spent in the living room after our discussion at the diner? I told you in the living room about the glowing of the pendant?" Nick nodded slowly. "When I was on my first date with Sarah, it glowed. For the first time since I've been in Zootopia it glowed. It was when we passed this large grey building en route to the concert. I think this may mean something. It- it may be my way home." Luke saw Nick's stunned expression and stopped talking, not knowing how much of Luke said Nick was actually processing.

"You alright Dad?" Luke asked as he waved his paw in front of Nick's blank expression.

Nick at that moment didn't know how to react. He simply stared into space while Luke's words rang through his head.

" _It may be my way home"_

Those words stung like salt in a wound. Nick felt that Luke was very much an essential part of his life. He knew Luke would continue to wonder about a possible return to his life back on Earth. However he could not stand the idea of Luke actually leaving and now that it was actually plausible, Nick was in utter disbelief. As he finally shifted his gaze back toward Luke, he did something that he vowed to Judy on their wedding day that he would never do again.

He didn't let them see that it got to him.

"Really Luke? That's incredible! We've got to check it out! You think you could bring us there?" Nick plastered on a smile. In truth he wanted nothing more then to walk out the door and leave right now. Everything inside him felt as if it was crumbling. However, Nick didn't let a crack show as he kept his warm exterior alive to prevent Luke and Judy from knowing the truth about how he felt.

"I mean, I guess I can. It may just take a bit to refresh my memory. Dad, are you alright? You've been smiling at me for a while now." Luke said cautiously. Nick was acting different, in a way he had never seen him before. Luke brushed it off though.

" _Probably disoriented from the fight",_ Luke thought as he waited for a response from Nick. "Dad?" Luke asked again.

Nick's smile faltered as he let out a yawn. "Yeah, I'm just tired… _son_." It hurt him to say that last word.

" _Who am I kidding? He's not my son. Somewhere out there his human parents are looking for him while Judy and I have been playing nothing more than a childhood game of 'house'"._ Nick thought as he shifted his gaze away.

"Carrots and I will get the day off tomorrow and we'll go check out that building. Sound good?" Nick asked. Luke's eyes struggled to meet the familiar emerald green of Nick's. "Now come on, let's go get some dinner" Nick plastered the smile back on as he walked briskly out the door, leaving Luke behind with Judy. He didn't look back.

* * *

Judy had managed to convince Bogo and Clawson to give each of them the day off the following day. After eating breakfast, the trio hopped in the car while Luke retrieved the pendant from his pocket to observe. Judy started up the car while Luke kept his eye on the pendant and instructed Judy to head to the Zootopia Amphitheater. Meanwhile, Nick silently stared out the window. He knew that the events of today would forever change his life. If Luke had the choice to leave, he had to brace himself for life without him. Nick's aloofness did not go unnoticed by Judy, who gave concerned glances to Nick. Nick, however, paid no mind to them as he kept his focus outside of the car.

Once Luke began recognizing the scenery, Judy slowed the car down. He was glad that he took the time to admire the view during his first date with Sarah. Luke looked down at the cold crystal pressed against the pads of his paws. Sure enough, Luke noticed the pendant begin to faintly glow and Judy drove forward.

"It's glowing! Slow down!" Luke exclaimed as Judy applied the breaks. Judy made the car creep around the corner as the faint glow intensified. Luke looked up to see the large grey building sitting on the hillside. They parked the car on the side of the road and hopped out as they walked towards the large structure. All three of them were silent as they walked slowly up to a large iron door.

"Luke, I just need you to prepare yourself. We don't know if you'll be able to get home but all we can do is hope that you will have the choice. You just need to prepare yourself for the possibility that returning to Earth may not be possible. Are you sure you want to do this Luke?" Judy gazed up at Luke, who was nervously swishing his tail side to side.

"I have to know. I have no choice, guys. I'm well aware that I may never return to Earth but I miss my sister and my human parents more than ever. If there's any possibility- I love you guys and that's why I need you there when I find out." Luke took a deep breath while Judy nodded understandingly. Nick remained emotionless throughout this entire ordeal.

Luke slowly reached his paw up to the metal door and rapped his knuckles upon the cold, grey surface. After a few seconds of unnerving silence, a badger creaked the large door open as he poked his head out.

"Yes?" He asked with a glare. Luke took a step back out of discomfort.

"Hello! My name is Judy Hopps. This is my partner Nick Wilde and my son Luke Barrett. We are from the ZPD. Do you mind if we talk to you? We just have a few questions."

"Oh yes! Of course!" The badger opened the door as he gestured for the three of them to enter the building.

"Easiest way to enter. Tell someone that you're from the ZPD and they immediately assume you're on official police business" Judy snickered as they followed the badger, closing the heavy door behind them.

"My name is Doctor Meles", the badger said as he held out his paw for each of them to shake. "I'm sorry for being curt. I was working for all of last night so I've barely slept and I get a little cranky when I'm sleep-deprived. So what can I do for you all?"

"This may seem a bit odd" Judy said as she took the bright pendant from Luke's paw and held it up for Dr. Meles to see. "Do you know anything about this?"

Dr. Meles' eyes widened as he saw the pendant in front of his snout. The light shined off his dark, beady eyes.

"Come with me." Dr. Meles ordered as Nick, Luke, and Judy followed him further into the building, their claws clicking against the cold, ceramic floor. Together the trio followed the badger down a dimly lit staircase, all the while exchanging nervous glances with one another as they approached a room at the base of the stairs. Dr. Meles opened the door as he flicked the light switch up. The harsh light immediately caused their pupils to contract. As their eyes finally adjusted, they were shocked at what they saw.

The light reflected off of nearly every surface. The pure white tile floor and walls constituted the entire room. Fluorescent light rods were mounted overhead while wires ran across the length of the room, all leading to a large metal arch.

"Dr. Meles, what the hell is all this?" Nick asked, too shocked to keep his silence.

"This is my workplace. Please, take a seat and I will tell you everything you need to know about that curious little crystal you've got in your possession." Dr. Meles pointed to a couple chairs near the wall.

"Is it just me or is something off about this guy…" Nick whispered to Judy as they took a seat.

"Nick, if Luke can get home this way then we need to give him every chance he's got." Judy whispered back as Dr. Meles walked over and sat down in front of them.

"Now Luke, tell me. Where did you get this crystal?" Asked Dr. Meles, Luke felt the beady eyes of the badger focus on him. Luke shot a look at Nick and Judy for support, who nodded seeing Luke's nervous glance.

"I- I was attacked by a bear. In the woods." Luke stammered, avoiding eye contact with the badger.

"Luke, you don't need to be afraid. I'm here to do whatever I can to help you out and give you whatever you need to know. You were attacked in the forest you say? On Earth?" Dr. Meles asked. This caused Nick, Judy, and Luke's jaws to drop. This badger certainly knew a lot, he was the only other animal besides the three of them that they had heard speak of Earth. The fact that he knew was very alarming to each of them. All three were on the edge of their seats now.

"Relax, there's a clear explanation as to why I know about this." Dr. Meles began to explain. "It has to do with all this equipment. You see, I was working to develop a new form of transportation for the citizens of Zootopia, something quicker, more efficient. After years of work, I finally developed this." Dr. Meles gestured to the large metal arch on the far side of the room. "This portal frame was supposed to be my way to success. But as it so turned out, the path to glory in Zootopia is not a road that comes without deviations. Instead of a portal that brought me to another location in Zootopia, I wound up on a strange world called Earth. The animals were all primitive, they showed no emotion. Predators were ruthless killers while prey were always forced to cower. I knew I couldn't venture there without protection. So I earned the aid of my lab assistant, my friend, a brown bear named Mr. Arctos. Together we ventured this new world, observed the behaviors of these primitive mammals, and even stumbled across a new species that we heard refer to themselves as humans. That pendant you hold, Luke, we used it to travel back and forth from Earth to Zootopia. Our expeditions were for the benefit of Zootopia. Only Arctos, he thought that those human creatures could be taken advantage of. He became obsessed. He ventured closer and closer to their settlements, desperately wanting to communicate with them. I warned him of the dangers but he repeatedly ignored me. One night, Arctos snuck into my lab when I was working late one night. He quickly stole the pendant from me. I tried to stop him but he fought back." Meles unbuttoned the top of his shirt to reveal a jagged scar that ran down his torso. It was clearly the bite mark of a bear. "I fought back, I managed to wound him so he could do less damage to the mammals there but in the end he escaped with the pendant." Meles took out a bear fang from his pocket, which caused Nick, Luke, and Judy to flinch. He passed it to Luke, who fumbled it clumsily in his paws. The fang slipped and dropped right onto the ceramic floor, chipping slightly.

"Oh jeez. Dr. Meles I am so sorry" Luke began as he picked up the fang and handed it back over to the badger.

"Oh please, don't worry about it. Enamel is tough stuff." Meles began before he noticed the chip in the tooth. "You didn't happen to see the piece that broke off, did you?" Luke shook his head.

But Nick had noticed, he just didn't admit it. As Luke was busy picking up the fang, Nick had quietly pocketed the chunk of tooth that rested by his foot.

"So, Luke. You know about me now. So let's hear about you." Dr. Meles asked.

Luke, once again, looked at Nick and Judy who nodded for him to speak.

"I wasn't always a wolf, Dr. Meles. I was a human. When the bear, Arctos, attacked me, I grab hold of the pendant and shouted 'Get me out of here'. When I woke up, I was a wolf. I've been here ever since." Luke replied.

"How long ago was that?" Dr. Meles asked.

"About 6 to 7 weeks ago." Luke responded.

"You seem to have adjusted well." Meles remarked. "So I bet you're wondering if this pendant can get you home. In case you haven't figured out it was you shouting 'get me out of here' that caused you to travel to Zootopia. So can it get you back to Earth? Well you bet it can."

That was it. Nick's perfect family life had been shattered. No matter how much he braced himself for it he knew it was all over now. Time seemed to stop around him. All Nick wanted to do was to leave, pretend this badger and his work never existed. However, all Nick did was sit a little further back in his chair while his and Judy's faces remained emotionless. They listened attentively for Luke's response.

"So- so I can get home? When?" Luke asked eagerly.

"Well we can do it right now" Dr. Meles paused as he saw Nick and Judy's blanks expressions. "But I suggest you take a couple days to think about it. Once you leave Zootopia, you won't be able to return."

"Why's that?" Luke asked with a puzzled expression.

"Well we'll be using the pendant to enable the portal. It acts as a sort of key. But after you return to Earth I'll need to destroy the pendant. If it ever fell into the wrong hands the results could be disastrous." Dr. Meles replied.

Luke nodded in acceptance. This was a big decision and he felt his mind was being torn in half by the conflict regarding his future. Stay or go? That was the question.

"Do you have any questions?" Dr. Meles asked, bringing Luke back from the land of his thoughts.

"Just two. Why did Arctos attack me? And why did I turn into a wolf when I arrived in Zootopia?" Luke could barely hold himself back. He was very on edge.

"Well, Luke. To answer your first question I believe Arctos attacked you because the constant isolation with nothing but savage animals caused him to psychologically deteriorate. He became savage to survive. As for your second question, I'm not quite sure. We're just at the tip of the iceberg in terms of portal exploration. However, I believe it's because humans can't exist in Zootopia. It's just a guess but I think that if you return to Earth, you will return to your human form."

"Alright, thank you Dr. Meles. I have some thinking to do." Luke said as he shook Meles' paw.

"You're welcome Luke. Call me when you let me know you're decision. I'll be waiting." Said Dr. Meles as he handed him a post-it with his phone number.

With that, Luke, Nick, and Judy left Meles' lab and drove back to the apartment. The drive back was even more silent than the drive to the lab. However Luke's head was loud with one thought and one thought only.

 _Stay or go?_


	15. Chapter 15: Lie for Love

**Author's Note: Nothing to say but to follow, fav, and review (And to enjoy). Thanks for all the positive feedback on my very first story! You guys rock!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 15: Lie for Love

Nick, Judy, and Luke sat quietly at the dinner table, doing their best to comprehend what Dr. Meles had told them. The clinking of silverware was the only thing that broke the unnerving silence that had fallen over them. At the conclusion of their meal, Luke simply gave a nod of appreciation to Nick and Judy as he got up from the table and washed his plate in the sink. Without another word, Luke simply walked off to his room and closed the door. As soon as they knew that Luke was out of earshot, Judy began to speak.

"Nick, can I tell you something?" Judy asked as she looked up from her plate.

"Of course Carrots, you can tell me anything." Nick replied as he scooted his chair next to Judy as she looked at him with her bright amethyst eyes.

"I don't want Luke to leave. I love him so much and I can't see our lives without him. During his time in the hospital, I realized how important he is to me. He's like a son to me…" Judy paused. "…not _like_ a son. He IS my son, our son. It may not be so biologically but I care for him with all my heart. Nick, please don't tell me I'm alone here." Judy said as her eyes began to tear up. Her eyes drooped down, perfectly displaying her deflated spirits.

"He's going to do what he wants Carrots. Nothing we can do." Nick said bluntly. The truth was that he wanted nothing more than for Luke to stay. Every moment Nick spent thinking about Luke's possible departure he felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He felt his heart slowly ripping in half. He was breathless when he thought that Luke would no longer be a part of his life. He'd only felt this way one other time before, when Judy had spoken at the press conference after finding the missing mammals. However, unlike then, he dared not show his emotions.

"Nicholas Piberius Wilde. I understand you're hurt but you have to remember what you said to me as part of your wedding vows. Please Nick, don't do this to yourself." Judy's eyes were now filled to the brim with tears as her gaze remained focused on Nick. He looked back at Judy before he himself broke down.

"Judy, what are we going to do without him? We obviously can't force him to stay here. I'm sorry I was building walls around me but I was just trying make it hurt less for when he would leave." Nick began to sob quietly while Judy herself was on the brink of emotional collapse. Nick took a napkin and wiped the tears off his auburn fur.

"I know, but Nick, instead of wallowing in sadness we have to do something. If he does actually decide to leave then why don't we make his last few days in Zootopia, with us, ones he'll remember for the rest of his life instead of just trying to push him farther away from us? Let's show Luke how much we actually care about him. He told me that he was considering the option of staying. So why don't we show him what his presence here really means to us?" Judy wiped away her tears and put her arm around Nick who simply looked back at Judy. His emerald eyes were still glassy.

"Judy, are you saying we're going to guilt him into staying? We can't do that to him."

"No Nick, we're not going to guilt him. We're just showing him some good times before Luke makes his decision to stay or go. That's all." Judy's voice was still shaking.

"So what are these lasting memories we'll give him?" Nick asked.

"Well, we'll give him a chance to perform on-field forensics. Then we can take him for a trip to Bunnyburrow to visit my parents. They say they really want to meet him. He'll be able to put his mind at ease their and the fresh country air surely will let Luke think clearly about his decision."

"That's not a bad idea. We have vacation days stored up so we can take him there for a couple days. We'll just stay hopeful until he tells us the choice he's made and we'll continue to support him." Nick replied as he and Judy got up from the table and began to clean the kitchen. The two stayed in silence, simply listening to the water of the faucet running over their dishes. Right then, they could only hope.

* * *

Luke was sitting upright on his bed with two photos on either side of him. He gazed at the photo on his left, looking at the human figure that stood on the mountains with the other named Sofia. He could return, be in the company of his sister, and get back to his normal life.

 _Normal_. He wasn't quite sure what to make of that word anymore. Normal was nothing for him. He lived two lives, each with their own events, characteristics, and troubles. Normality in his life simply did not exist anymore. Given the incredible experiences Luke now had under his belt, he doubted he could ever return to normal. Luke realized he could only base his future residence not off of what made his life the most normal but what made his life the most stable.

He now studied the photo on his right. It was a photo of a grey wolf with bright brown eyes. The familiar-looking wolf was smiling with Nick, Judy, and Sarah. He was wearing brand new lab coat with a wide smile on his face as he stood on the front step of the ZPD. As Luke held the two photos together, only one thought went through his mind.

" _I'm neither of these people_."

Luke looked back down at the photo of his wolf-self with Sarah, Nick, and Judy. He stared at Nick and Judy's smiling faces.

" _If I'm to leave, I need to do it soon. I can't just leave Nick and Judy wondering if I'm going to stay or go."_ Luke thought as he now turned his glance to the face of his girlfriend. He immediately felt the guilt wrench his gut. He still hadn't told Sarah the truth about him. He knew he had to come clean and tell Sarah the truth.

Luke lay back in his bed as he placed the two photos under his nightstand. He had a lot to think about with very little time.

* * *

The familiar sound of his alarm caused Luke to jolt awake. Getting a good night's rest hadn't done anything to ease his mind over the decision that he had to make. Luke quickly showered, got dressed, and walked out into the dining room. His stomach grumbled as he saw the plate of chocolate-chip banana pancakes sitting on the table with a steaming mug of coffee. Nick and Judy were already sitting at the table, however neither one of them were acting like their usual selves. Nick wasn't busy reading the newspaper and Judy wasn't busy checking her email, which she did often to see if Bogo needed them in an instant when they were off-duty. Instead, both Nick and Judy sat there with smiles on their face. It was a stark contrast from the atmosphere in that same room no more than 12 hours ago.

"Mom, Dad…what's all this for?" Luke asked as he pointed his claw toward the elaborate breakfast they had laid out for him.

"Oh this? This is nothing." Judy beamed at Luke. "We just thought our boy needed a good breakfast. You gotta stay energized for a day in the field!"

"I'm going to the field today?!" Luke asked shocked.

"Not just you son, Sarah is coming with you too!" Nick exclaimed.

"Oh man! I can't wait! Are we with you guys?" Luke asked as he began to stuff his face with pancakes.

"Yep!" Judy replied ecstatically. "We got a case that needs forensics so I gave officer Clawson a call and she's been so impressed by the work you're doing there in the lab that she was more than happy for you to come along. Seeing that you had no trouble with the introduction to the collection of forensic evidence a couple weeks back she was willing to send you two together!"

During his recovery, Luke and Sarah had received an instruction course in the collection of forensic samples from the crime scene. After the course, the two couldn't wait for the first call-up to the field. Now that it was actually happening, Luke was taken over by a feeling of pure elation. The prospect of being able to go to the field completely wiped the pressure of the decision out of Luke's mind. Luke scarfed down the remainder of his breakfast and the three of them headed out to the ZPD.

Luke sprinted down to the lab where he saw Sarah standing at her locker. Her aqua eyes lit up when she saw Luke.

"Hey you", Sarah gave her boyfriend a wry grin.

"Hey! I've got something to tell you!" Luke said warmly as he went up and gave Sarah a kiss.

"And what's that?"

"We're going to the field today!" Luke exclaimed.

"Are you serious? That's fantastic!" Sarah pulled Luke into a tight embrace. "I can't wait to get out there with you!"

The two let officer Clawson know that they were ready to head out with Nick and Judy. Clawson handed them a kit of forensic equipment for the field along with two hazmat suits to prevent crime scene contamination. With that, Sarah and Luke rode the elevator up to the lobby where they would meet Nick and Judy.

The four of them drove to the outskirts of rainforest district. The cruiser's windshield wipers were working nonstop as the deluge in the tropics continued. Sarah and Luke sat back in their seats listening to the drumming of the rain against the roof of the car.

"So where are we headed?" Sarah asked.

"We're off to an apartment complex on the intersection of Vine and Rain Street. Yesterday we seized what appears to be some sort of drug lab. We needed someone from forensics to come and collect some of the left over substances for analysis in the lab" Judy said.

"Sounds like fun!" Luke replied as the car came to a stop outside a large tree next to a group of parked police cars. Nick turned back to Luke and Sarah. His face was dead serious.

"You two need to listen to what I'm about to say. Going into the field is not any sort of game. You two need to promise that you will not wander off alone. This is an active crime scene and we never know when criminals are simply lurking right by waiting to pounce. Do you understand?" Both Luke and Sarah nodded in agreement. "But be excited!" Nick's demeanor sharply changed as they hopped out of the car.

The four arrived outside the apartment and were greeted by two fellow officers at the door. Judy instructed Luke and Sarah to suit up in their hazmat suits, which they did obediently. Judy opened the door for them and spoke to them.

"Alright, we need you guys to go in and collect the samples of the drug. The perpetrator sure was in a hurry to leave when he heard the cops were coming because there were a couple test tubes with the drug smashed upon the ground. This is your first outing so it will not be that particularly daunting of a task but yell if anything goes wrong in there. You also have radios with you. Good luck you two!"

"Thanks!" Sarah and Luke said simultaneously as they entered the apartment.

The apartment looked like a warzone. Lab equipment lay strewn everywhere. Couch cushions were torn up while chairs to the lab bench were knocked over. They barely knew where to start amidst this mess.

"Wow, Judy wasn't kidding. Someone was certainly ready to leave." Luke remarked as Sarah opened up the kit and began to fill bags with the shards of test tubes resting on the floor.

"Luke, you think we should check area for any fur left? It could lead Nick and Judy to the suspect." Sarah asked.

"Sure" Luke replied as he and Sarah began to search the area.

An hour of searching the apartment didn't yield any further evidence. Luke and Sarah stood in the apartment exhausted from searching. Luke was just about to tell Sarah that they should leave but then it hit him. He was alone with Sarah.

" _If I'm going to tell Sarah the truth about me, now's the time."_ Luke thought as he took a deep breath and put his paw around Sarah's covered shoulder.

"Sarah, there's something I need to tell you." Luke's heart was going a mile a minute.

"Yes Luke?" Sarah's eyes focused on Luke's with great intensity.

" _Here it goes"_ Luke thought as he took a deep breath.

"I'm really proud of where we've come together and I love you."

"Aw. I love you too Luke. If you weren't all dressed up right now my lips would be right on yours." Sarah beamed as she packed the evidence and headed towards the door. She turned back to see Luke still standing there. "Come on, let's get back to Nick and Judy."

Luke paused before he spoke. "Yeah, let's go".

* * *

"Nice work you two! Clawson wasn't lying when she said you two were a great partnership!" Judy exclaimed as the car sped towards the ZPD.

"Thanks! I love working with Luke too! He's smart, funny, and he's also so honest!" Luke felt his stomach knot at the mention of that last word. "He really is the perfect partner and gentlewolf." Sarah replied.

"I believe it!" Judy said as the cruiser pulled into the lot of the ZPD. The four of them hopped out of the car and closed the doors as they headed into the building. The four of them walked through the lobby and stopped at the elevator.

"So Sarah, Nick and Judy are taking me to Bunnyburrow tomorrow so I'll be out of town for the next two days. I'll be here now though to take a look at those samples. I'm sorry to stick you with those reports though." Luke said.

"It's alright. You'd do the same for me." Sarah replied.

"Hey Sarah, can I just speak to you for one sec. I thought I saw something peculiar about the evidence you brought." Nick gestured for Sarah to come with him toward a corner of the lobby.

"Yeah! Sure thing Mr. Wilde!" Sarah said as she walked over with Nick. "What's going on? What'd you see?"

"Sarah, it's nothing about the evidence. I need you to take a look at this for me when you go to the lab." Nick pulled out the shard of the bear's fang that he had taken from Dr. Meles. "I just need you to verify that it does in fact belong to a bear. Also, do me a favor and keep this out of Luke's sight. He cannot know that I have this."

"Of course Mr. Wilde, you can count on me." Sarah said quietly as she pocketed the bit of fang.

"Thank you. And please Sarah, call me Nick." The fox replied.

"Will do Nick." Sarah smiled as they heard the elevator ding. Sarah joined Luke as they headed down to the lab.

The two wolves put on their lab coats and began to observe the shards of test tube with the strange liquid coating of the drug.

"I can't get a clear view." Luke commented as he scrunched his face in front of the microscope. "Let's just try and look at the drug." Luke took a cotton swab and prepared a slide of the drug to examine under the microscope. To his disappointment, he observed nothing there.

"Why is there nothing? Are we missing something?" Luke asked as he backed away from the microscope in order to allow Sarah to glance.

"Huh, why is that?" Sarah asked herself. "Hold on. I have an idea." Sarah got out another slide and added the liquid to it. However, instead of bringing the slide to the normal microscope she now brought it to the large electron microscope. It was rarely ever used but when a sample was so tiny, it came to be very useful. She waited by the computer monitor for the images to be generated and her jaw dropped.

"Luke, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Yeah"

"So you agree this isn't a drug, right Luke?"

Luke nodded before replying. "It's a virus".

Sarah saved the images to the computer. They were both visibly shocked. This sample being very far from what they expected. Sarah broke the unnerving silence caused by the surprise. "What do we do now? I mean obviously we have to tell Nick and Judy."

"I don't know Sarah. We're just about to go to Bunnyburrow. If we tell them now they won't stop focusing on something that they can't do anything about." Luke replied.

"I guess that makes sense. We shouldn't stress them out unnecessarily", Sarah responded. "We'll figure this all out when we get back. I can work on those reports and see what kind of virus this is."

The two cleaned up their lab bench and hung up their lab coats in their lockers as the evening approached. Sarah kissed Luke as she smiled back at him.

"Have fun in Bunnyburrow. I'll see you in two days."

"Yeah. Until then Sarah." Luke gave Sarah another kiss as he headed off to the elevator.

" _I'll tell her the truth soon"._


	16. Chapter 16: A Trip to the Burrows

**Author's Note:** **Just wanted to announce that this story has reached over 5,700 views and 20 favorites! A big thanks for all the support! Can't thank you guys enough!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 16: A Trip to the Burrows

"Shirts?"

"Check."

"Toiletries?"

"Check."

"Sense of humor?"

"Check" Luke answered Nick with a grin as he zipped up his suitcase.

"Liar." Judy said with a smile. "Puns don't count as jokes."

"Yeah but Dad's Hawaiian shirts do." Luke smirked as he pointed to Nick's open suitcase containing a colorful array of floral shirts.

"Wow, Luke, thanks a lot. You wound me." Nick put his paw over his heart as he tossed his head back.

"Alright, are we all set to go?" Judy asked as Nick sealed his suitcase.

"Yep, got the train tickets right here." Nick produced 3 stubs of paper from his pocket.

"Alright, we should leave now just in case we get caught in traffic on the way to Zootopia Central Station. The train leaves in about 45 minutes." Judy replied as she handed her luggage to Nick.

"How long is the train ride?" Luke inquired.

"It's about two and a half hours. Don't worry though. Put in your headphones and look out the window and it goes by in a flash. You get so swept up with the landscape that you forget to even look at the clock." Judy replied as she recalled that first train ride she took to Zootopia. That train had brought magnificent change to her life but now with Luke she wanted everything just to stay the way it was.

The three of them hopped in the car and drove with their suitcases through the streets of Savannah Central as the sun's rays began to shine off the glass panes of towering skyscrapers. As the car came to a rolling stop at a red light, Luke piped up.

"So Mom, is it just your parents that we'll be seeing? Or do you have a couple of younger siblings that still live there?" Luke asked. Judy barely managed to keep herself from bursting into laughter while Nick simply put his face in his paw and shook his head.

"I guess you can say that." Judy chuckled while Luke remained absolutely oblivious in the backseat.

The three of them arrived at the station and Luke was taken aback. Although he had been wandering around the city of Zootopia for quite some time now, he had not seen anything like this before.

So many different types of animals crowded the station, each headed off to their own destination. It was the sheer diversity of species that blew Luke away. Hippos stood on a vent and were met with a blast of air that completely dried off their suits. Lemmings used a complex network of tubes to quickly travel from one end of the station to the other to avoid getting treaded on by the larger animals. In another corner, a juice stand worker was busy feeding orders through a large pipeline where at the other end, a giraffe's lengthy figure would be eagerly waiting the arrival of his beverage. Luke was so caught up in it all that he didn't even notice Nick and Judy walk off without him until they called his name from afar.

"Hello…? Zootopia to Luke?" Nick shouted from the train platform.

"Huh!? Yeah, coming!" Luke said as he paws scampered along the ground to where Nick and Judy were. The three of them faced a large orange train at the side of the platform. Luke looked down to see some lemmings walking toward the train, but not towards the large door that the three of them were headed to. He watched them walk towards the edge of the track and not stop right at the edge. Luke couldn't bear to watch the lemmings plummet to their deaths in the tracks.

"Stop!" Luke yelled as he buried his muzzle in his paws.

"What is it Luke?!" Judy's grey ears perked up as she looked around alarmed.

Luke took his face out of his paws as he watched the lemmings not fall onto the tracks but enter through doorways at the floor of the train that were no bigger than his paw. Luke let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry" Luke said sheepishly. "I thought those lemmings were walking off into the tracks."

"Wow Luke, you know not all lemmings are suicidal. Way to dive right into the stereotypes." Nick shook his head with a smug look on his muzzle.

"Where I come from they sometimes plummet off cliffs!" Luke exclaimed, trying to justify his actions.

"It's alright Luke, Nick's just being his usual annoying self. He really isn't the person who should be acting all high and mighty when it comes to stereotypes." Judy replied as they walked onto the train.

The three of them took their suitcases up a staircase to a large glass observation dome. They took a seat at the far end of the loft and gazed out of the glass barrier while the train rolled out of the station. Luke took Judy's earlier advice and slipped his earbuds into his grey, pointed ears as the landscape rapidly changed around them.

Luke's eyes were glued to the view outside. He watched as the train shot out from Savannah Central and looked up to see that he was surrounded by a green wall of vegetation. As he finally relaxed to the steady drum of rain along the roof of the train car, he was interrupted by the all-white view around him of Tundratown. The rain droplets from Rainforest District that rested on the window quickly began to freeze in the cold climate of Tundratown. He gazed in wonder as animals traveled on the icy waters of the district on small icebergs. Luke craned his neck to look back at the snowy citadel as the train roared into the tunnel. As Luke turned his head, he was surprised to see what looked to be heat waves so close to the cold weather of Tundratown. Luke's eyes widened at the expanse of sand that surrounded him as he sped out of the tunnel. He sharply glanced up to see a large palm tree towering above them. Luke squinted at the large tree as he noticed what looked to be…windows?

"What is this building?" Luke asked as he pointed a claw to the palm tree.

"That's the Oasis Hotel. It does quite a business. Very pricey, but also luxurious." Nick said as the train rolled out of the city limits of Zootopia. Luke turned to see city of Zootopia in its entire entirety.

"Wow! It's completely different from this view. Zootopia is huge!" Luke exclaimed as the train rolled off into the green pastures of the country.

"Yeah, it never gets old." Judy replied as she gazed out, the humming of the train soothing them as they sped off towards Bunnyburrow.

* * *

As the train rolled to a stop, Luke could not help but to notice the odd architecture of the Bunnyburrow station.

" _This was intentional, right? They couldn't have made this look like a bunny on accident._ " Luke thought as the trio walked out of the train. Nick saw Luke's glance at the train station and immediately read his thoughts.

"Yeah, I don't know why they made it look like a rabbit. I mean there are already so many bunnies here. Do they really need more?" Nick remarked as he gestured toward the station. Luke chuckled as crowds of bunnies were brushing right by him. He received a few odd stares from some while other simply paid no attention to the wolf.

"Judy, why are they staring at me?" Luke asked as he tapped Judy on the shoulder.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. We don't get many predators around here so they might just be a little startled. You're also new here and they definitely know that. Bunnyburrow is a really small town. Everybody knows each other. That's why Nick isn't getting any stares. People finally trust this fox because he's my husband and he's been coming here for a while." Judy replied.

"Wasn't always like that though." Nick added. "Remember my first time here, Carrots?"

"Yeah, thankfully I hid my Dad's fox-taser so he couldn't use that." Judy replied which forced a shudder from Nick. "And speak of the devil…"

"Judy! Nick!" an older male bunny called out while he waved frantically. He was accompanied by female bunny who looked just as equally excited.

"Mom! Dad!" Judy shouted as she ran over and gave her parents a big hug. Nick, on the other hand, kept his cool but also gave Judy's parents a warm embrace.

"So, Judy. Is this who I think it is?" Judy's mom asked as she gestured to Luke.

"Indeed it is! Mom, Dad, this is Luke. Luke, these are my parents. Their names are Bonnie and Stu." Judy said as Luke shook paws with the two rabbits.

"Hello Luke, it's so great to finally meet you! I've heard nothing but great things about you from Nick and Judy!" Bonnie said warmly.

"Yeah, Jude the dude here kept going on about you" Stu smiled as he clasped Luke's shoulder.

"That's good to hear Mister and Misses Hopps" Luke replied. "Thanks for that Jude the dude." Luke said with a smirk. Judy glared at her father.

"You see what you've done? Nick made fun of me enough when you used that nickname and now Luke is never going to stop." Judy folded her arms and rapped her foot against the concrete ground in annoyance.

"Oh hush Judy. Let's go. Your siblings are waiting for you." Bonnie said as the group left the station.

* * *

The Hopps' farm truck sped off on the country road, kicking up a plume of dirt from the dust that had blown onto the road. Stu and Bonnie sat in the cabin of the truck while the lack of seats forced Nick, Judy, and Luke to have to hitch a ride on the storage space on the back. Fortunately for them, Stu had cleared out the farm tools that he usually kept back there. In their place he left a small box of blueberries for them to share as they drove off towards the Hopps estate. The three of them devoured the berries, Nick and Luke being the main culprits, and they set the empty container at their side as the truck sped along the country road. They sat back as the fresh air blew through their fur.

"Wow those berries were good." Luke remarked

"Glad you like them. They're "Hopps" family brand!" Judy replied.

"Wait, your family grew these? That's awesome!" Luke answered with excitement. His tongue was stained violet from the blueberries.

"Yeah, we also grow carrots too but our blueberries are very high in demand." Judy said as she shot a quick look at Nick who had hid a secret stash of blueberries in one of his paws. "You two are lucky. We're at the height of the season right now and there's no way my family is gonna be able to go through all of these themselves. So we'll have plenty to bring back to Zootopia."

"We're here!" Bonnie called as Stu sharply turned onto a gravel driveway. Luke turned his head back to get a glimpse of the Hopps' house. His jaw dropped upon seeing the large size of the building. He turned his head to the side to see row after row of crops.

"Mom! This place is huge!" Luke exclaimed as he hopped down from the back of the truck.

"Here Luke, I'll take your bag." Stu said as he picked up Luke's suitcase and headed toward the house. The rest of them followed Stu through the doors of the house. As Luke entered the house, a wall of grey fur immediately surrounded him.

"Hi Judy! Hi Nick!" a chorus of voices rose up from the grey wall, which Luke had quickly realized was a crowd of bunnies. All of a sudden, Luke noticed a flash of light at his side. He turned to see Nick snickering as he showed Luke the screen of his phone, which displayed a picture of Luke's appalled face.

"Are these Judy's siblings?! I thought she said she only had a _couple_. Not a couple hundred!" Luke said with utter disbelief.

"Actually, you just assumed that. She never said how many siblings she had." Nick replied with a smirk.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Luke asked frantically.

"We wanted to see your face. PS, it was totally worth it." Nick chuckled as he showed Luke his phone again. The photo of Luke's shocked face was now his lock screen.

"Alright, kids." Judy interjected. "This right here is Luke. Don't worry because he is a nice wolf. I want you all to be extra gentle with him. We don't want to make him scared to come here again."

" _Hopefully there will be a next time."_ Nick thought as they waded through the field of bunnies, which now began to cling onto their legs. After they finally managed to break free, Stu brought Luke to the room he would be staying in. After Luke put his suitcase over in the corner, he walked back to the living room to see Nick and Judy with a mug of coffee in their paws while they sat on the couch conversing with Bonnie and Stu.

"Hey Luke, would you like some coffee?" Bonnie asked. She looked just about ready to jump up from the couch.

"No, I'm alright. But thank you." Luke said as he took a seat next to Nick.

"So, Luke. What do you like about Zootopia?" asked Stu. "Is it frightening? Because there's no shame in admitting it."

"Stu, don't force your opinions of Zootopia onto Luke." Bonnie scolded. "So what do you like about the city Luke?"

"It's really big and really diverse. It's also a really great atmosphere so no, I am not afraid of it. The mammals there are really nice too." Luke said as a smile.

"That's great to hear!" Bonnie replied.

"And how's living with Jude the dude? We saw the way she took care of her room when she was little so we're a little scared as to how she treats her apartment when we're not around." Stu remarked.

"Dad!" Judy yelled.

"Actually, living with Nick and Judy is great! I love spending time with them. Everything runs pretty smoothly in the household since we all work the same schedule at the ZPD." Luke replied as Nick and Judy gave him a smile for what he just said.

"That's right! We heard that you were working as an intern down at the forensics lab! How goes that?" Stu asked.

"It's really great! My partner and I have been getting to assist a lot on Nick and Judy's cases! I'm doing something I love!" Luke exclaimed as Bonnie and Stu smiled.

"Wow Judy. He sounds just like you when you first became an officer!" Bonnie said gleefully.

"I know!" Judy exclaimed, taking no precautions to hide her wide smile.

"So Luke, Nick and Judy are going to take you to visit a friend and then when you come back we'll have dinner all set." Stu informed him as Nick and Judy got up from the couch.

"Alright that sounds good! I'll see you guys later tonight!" Luke said as he followed Nick and Judy.

"Until then Luke!" Stu shouted after him as he walked out the door.

* * *

"So who's this friend of yours?" Luke asked as the truck came to a stop outside a bakery.

"He's a fox that I've known since childhood. But I only just got back in-touch with him a couple years ago." Judy explained as they tumbled out of the truck. Luke had to squeeze himself into the passenger seat with Nick in order to not have to ride in the back.

"Why are we meeting him at a bakery? Seems like a bit of an odd place to meet." Luke commented.

"Well we thought you might want to explore a bit of Bunnyburrow and this is also Gideon's business." Informed Judy as they strolled through the door of the bakery.

"Hello? Gideon?" Judy called out. A middle-aged fox appeared behind the counter with a tray of pies. His fur was a bit of a darker color than Nick's and he had a stockier build.

"My oh my. If that isn't Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde! How long has it been?" Gideon said with a country accent. "And who's this young critter you got taggin' along with ya?"

"This right here is Luke. We just thought we should introduce him to you and your rather delicious trades." Nick replied.

"Sure thing! Three of the usual comin' right up!" Gideon replied as he went behind the counter and produced three slices of blueberry pie.

"Thanks Gideon! How much do we owe you?" Judy asked as she took out her wallet.

"Aw shucks! For y'all it's nothin'" Gideon said as he served them their pie and took a seat with them at a table. "So Luke, tell me 'bout yourself? Whaddya like to do for fun?"

"In my free-time? Well I don't get much of that but I do like to bake. Though I bet my stuff isn't quite as good as this. This pie is outstanding Gideon!" Luke replied as he took a big forkful of the pastry. Occasionally Luke had surprised Nick and Judy with desserts. He came to be decent at baking during his long recovery period after the car accident. Spending time in the kitchen was what kept him sane when he spent all day in the house.

"Aw shucks, that's real nice of ya to say. If ya like baking then I can give ya some tips in a little bit. We can work together." Gideon said to Luke.

"Really?" Luke looked over at Nick and Judy to see their eager smiles. "That would be awesome! I would love some tips!"

"Alright then! Let's get started!" Gideon said as Luke finished the last bit of pie and followed Gideon to the kitchen.

"We'll be back in an hour Luke! Have fun!" Judy called out as they strolled out of the bakery.

Luke looked at his pie as it cooled on the rack. Sure, the pie was a little oddly shaped but it looked delicious enough.

"Nice job bud. Did anyone teach ya how to bake?" Gideon asked.

"My mom- uh Judy, she taught me some." Luke replied, realizing that he probably shouldn't reveal his human background.

"Well ya seem to be doing real good." Gideon said as he boxed up Luke's deformed pie. The two turned their heads to see Nick and Judy enter.

"Hey Luke, how'd the baking go?" Nick smiled as he smelled the fragrant air of the bakery. "Smells like it was a success."

"It came out to be a little oddly-shaped but it's the taste that really counts." Luke said as he opened up the box to show them the pie.

"Looks good Luke! We'll just need to hide it from my siblings so that they don't steal it." Judy replied as she closed the box back up. "It was great seeing you Gideon!"

"You too Judy. Catch y'all later!" Gideon called out as they walked out of the bakery and headed back to Judy's childhood home.

* * *

Nick, Judy, and Luke entered the massive dining hall and sat down at a table with Bonnie and Stu. Surrounding their table was a sea of other tables to seat the younger rabbits. They each sat themselves down in front their own large bowl of salad and began to dig in.

"Luke, this salad is what's for dinner so make sure you eat up!" Judy said. She was already halfway done with the large bowl of veggies.

"Alright! This is really good by the way Mrs. Hopps!" Luke said as he ate another forkful of salad.

"Thank you Luke! That's really thoughtful of you to say. I obviously can't cook alone for a couple hundred bunnies so I have some cooks to help me out. This is my recipe though." Bonnie replied with a smile.

"When Luke says he likes something he means it! Trust me, he's been ruthless when I've done something he doesn't like", Nick quipped. "But in all seriousness. He expresses his opinion and if it's not positive then he'll still be very polite about it. His honesty is one of the best parts of his personality."

Luke's world stopped right there. He'd been kept busy with the activities in Bunnyburrow but now he was brought right back to the problems at hand. It was as if someone poured a bucket of ice-water on top of him.

" _I'm not who they say I am. I'm not honest at all. I haven't even told Sarah the truth about me and I doubt that Judy's parents know the reality about my character as well."_ Luke thought as he now just began to nibble at the salad in silence while Nick and Judy conversed with Bonnie and Stu. As Luke slowly finished off his salad, he silently got up with his bowl and headed toward the kitchen. He turned to the group at his table.

"I think I'm gonna turn in. It's been a long day and I'm pretty beat. Thanks for dinner Mrs. Hopps." Luke said flatly, causing Nick and Judy to share a concerned look.

"Oh, alright then. Goodnight Luke!" Judy said as Luke strolled out of the room.

"Is he okay? All of a sudden he just grew quiet during the dinner." Stu asked while Nick and Judy shared another glance.

"I'm sure he's fine." Judy lied to comfort her parents. "Like he said, he's probably just tired."

"Well alright. We'll let him sleep it off. Just as you said earlier, Luke's an honest guy. So I guess he really is tired." Bonnie replied as she finished her last bit of salad.

"Yeah, guess so." Nick trailed off as he stared off toward the door where Luke had walked out.

* * *

 **Author's Note 2 (please read): Hey guys. Just wanted to let you know that I probably won't be uploading for the next couple days since I'm going out of town to visit family. Thanks for understanding!**


	17. Chapter 17: Dimly-lit Dialogue

**Author's note:** **Loving what people are saying about the story! It truly brightens my day to see all the positive feedback I'm getting. Enjoy chapter 17!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 17: Dimly-lit Dialogue

" _Sarah?"_

" _Yes Luke?"_

" _There's something that I need to tell you. I've been struggling with it for a while but you, as my girlfriend, have a right to know."_

" _Luke, you can tell me anything."_

" _Okay."_ Luke took a deep breath. _"The truth is I'm not from Bunnyburrow. I wasn't always a wolf. I come from a different world called Earth. I used to be a different species called a human but I got transformed to a wolf when I arrived here."_

 _(Silence)_

" _Sarah?"_

 _(Silence)_

" _Sarah, please say something!"_ Luke said frantically as he put a paw on Sarah's shoulder. He was met by a sharp pain to his face. He looked to see Sarah's claws covered with blood- his blood.

" _Get away from me!"_ Sarah said as she stepped back from Luke.

" _Sarah, please."_ Luke choked out, his eyes filled with tears.

" _I said get away from me you disgusting mutt!"_ Sarah shoved Luke away. Luke felt the blood drip down his cheek.

" _Sarah, please don't do this."_ Luke's voice began to crack, as he could no longer contain his tears.

" _GET AWAY FROM ME!"_

Luke jolted awake and sat upright in his bed, panting. His heart was racing as he tried to steady his breath. As Luke began to regain his composure, he burst into tears. Luke shoved his face into his pillow to attempt to stifle his sobs.

" _I can't live like this."_ Luke thought as he got up from his bed and looked out the window, the soft moonbeams highlighting his grey fur. The night atmosphere was very enticing to Luke, having always enjoyed the fresh air and tranquility of the outdoors. Luke slipped on a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt as he quietly made his way down the hall outside his room, his eyes still full of tears.

* * *

Nick and Judy were sleeping lightly. Besides the fact that they were used to their own bed, the sudden change in Luke's demeanor over dinner had now caused them to be filled with worry. They both knew that Luke's decision would be coming in the following days, causing them a number of restless nights. Nick turned over to face the clock on his nightstand. It read 1:00 AM.

"Carrots? You still up?" Nick whispered to the bunny next to him.

"Yeah. What is it Nick?" Judy responded softly.

"I'm…scared" Nick muttered slowly.

"I know. Me too Nick." Judy replied, immediately knowing what was on Nick's mind. "It'll work out for the best though. The best we can do is to just let Luke decide. This must be tough on him too"

"Yeah I guess-" Nick was interrupted by the sound of creaking floorboards outside of the bedroom door. "Carrots, do you hear that?"

"Yeah." Judy said quietly. "Who could be up at this hour? I mean- besides us."

"Let's go check who it is." Nick said as he and Judy quickly hopped out of bed.

* * *

Luke had crept out of the house into the night air. Walking on the gravel driveway, he took a seat on the back of the parked truck and stared up at the moon. He sat with his head resting against the back-windshield of the truck as the light from the moon dimly lit up the area. Luke checked his watch, 1:02 AM. It wasn't a problem for him. Luke very much enjoyed staying up late, as it was when he was left alone to his thoughts. While some could consider being at the mercy of one's own thoughts scary, it gave Luke a lot of time to think about his troubles and how to address them. However, it sometimes caused Luke to spiral down into a pattern of self-deprecation. Luke felt the cool, night air wash over him as he relaxed his shoulders and closed his eyes.

"Luke? Is that you?" Judy's voice called out softly.

" _If I'm silent they might just leave me be."_ Luke thought as footsteps approached the truck, hearing the familiar crunch of gravel.

"Carrots, it is him." Nick said as Luke could now make out the auburn and grey figures underneath the moonlight.

"Luke, what are you doing up so late?" Judy asked.

"Same could be asked about you two." Luke replied. His gaze didn't shift off the moon. Nick shook his head. Luke's response was nearly the exact same one he had said to Nick that night when he found Luke in the alley.

"C'mon son, don't make this an unpleasant time. We just wanted to know if there's anything we can do for you." Nick said sympathetically. "We know something's eating at you."

Luke sighed before he motioned for Nick and Judy to take a seat next to him on the back of the truck. The three of them sat back while they stared up at the moon.

"I've been having a lot of trouble with this decision, but I think I know where my heart wants to be." Luke told them. Nick and Judy simply closed their eyes. They hoped for the best but were preparing for the worst. "I think I wanna stay. I love you guys and this is like a fresh start for me. I struggled a lot back on Earth but here I get a clean slate. It's just been difficult for me to grasp the fact that I'll never see my human parents, friends, and family again."

"Oh Luke, we understand. Big changes are terrifying but if you would like to stay then we'll be here for you every step of your transition." Judy said as she hugged Luke.

"Thanks." Luke replied as he put an arm around the rabbit.

"Is there anything else that's on your mind, Luke?" Nick asked. He was thrilled at hearing Luke's choice but chose not to overly express his joy given the delicate state Luke was in.

"Yeah." Luke said. "I'm not quite sure what to do about Sarah."

"I thought everything was going great. You want to break up with her?" Nick asked surprised.

"No! I love Sarah! I don't know what to do when it comes to my human-self! I still haven't told her yet and on our first date when she asked where I was from I just made it up at said I was from Bunnyburrow! With all this talk about me being honest I can't take it anymore! I owe Sarah the truth." Luke spilled out while Nick and Judy sat there expressionless.

"Luke, are you still the same person that Sarah knows and loves? Have you lied about your personality and your interests to her?" Judy asked as Luke just shook his head. "Then it's going to be alright. She might be shocked but that's understandable and you have to give her a chance. I know that it's scary to put yourself all on the line like that but it'll work out for the best. If she goes after you for one innocent detail about your past then she isn't worth it. It'll turn out fine Luke."

"Jude the dude is right Luke" Nick said which caused Luke to chuckle. "If Carrots here accepted me for being a con-mammal who committed felony tax evasion then there's no way she shouldn't accept you for being human once upon a time. You just need to be honest with her and explain the reasoning for not telling her and it'll work out."

"Thanks." Luke replied. "Wait, that's right! You're a con-mammal! I totally forgot!"

"Yeah, before I was a police officer I made a living by hustling animals. I won't go into it as that time is in the past. But I will say this: I grew up on the streets of Zootopia and spent most of my nights in alleyways after I ran from home. When I saw you in that alley, I knew I had to help. I didn't want what happened to me to happen to someone else when I knew I could do something to help." Nick said as he and Luke shared a tight hug.

"Why did you become a police officer?" Luke asked as he and Nick separated from their embrace.

"Well, as you know, I met Carrots when we were working on the night howler case. But I wasn't a police officer then. In fact, I was still a con-mammal and I had just hustled Carrots. She needed help solving a case so when she threatened me with tax evasion I had no choice but to help. Eventually, we were able to solve the case and we became really good friends and realized that we would make great partners on the force as well. It was only a couple months after I joined the ZPD that we started dating and that was that. So the reason I became a police officer came down to this dumb bunny right here." Nick pointed a claw at Judy who now started to look very tired and struggled to keep her eyes open.

"That's really nice." Luke said. "That's a great story."

"I know. I'm just waiting for them to make a movie out of it or something." Nick joked.

"Yeah, that may be a long shot." Luke chuckled as he got up from the truck. Nick picked up a now fast-asleep Judy from the truck as they headed back inside.

"You going to be okay? Or do you want to come and sleep in our room?" Nick asked quietly as they walked the halls of the house, stopping outside of Luke's room.

"I'll be fine Dad. The question is if Mom is gonna be okay." Luke pointed to Judy who had now begun to drool while Nick carried her in his arms.

"Eh, she'll be fine. Goodnight Luke" Nick said as he walked down the dark hall. Luke watched Nick's tail disappear as he stepped into the shadows. Luke turned to his room and quietly entered, as to not disturb the others sleeping in neighboring rooms. Luke stripped down to his boxers and threw the blankets over him as he melted back into the bed.

" _It'll work out."_ Luke thought as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Is it dead?"

"I don't think so."

"You should poke it"

Luke felt a light jab in his side. He quickly opened his eyes and sat up to see two young rabbits jump back startled. He opened his mouth to speak to them but they were one step ahead of him.

"RUN! It's going to eat us!" One of the bunnies screamed.

"No kids! I'm not going to-" Luke was interrupted by the two bunnies bolting out of his room and slamming the door behind him. "…eat you", Luke finished after the two rabbits had already bolted out of his room. Luke put on some clothes, brushed his teeth and then walked down to the living room where he saw Nick, Judy, Bonnie, and Stu relaxing with cups of coffee in the paws.

"Good morning Luke. Did you sleep okay?" Bonnie asked. Luke shot a quick glance at Nick and Judy before he responded.

"Yeah, everything was great."

"That's good." Bonnie replied. "We don't get a ton of visitors around here but when we do we always try to make them as comfortable as possible. That reminds me, did two young rascals find their way into your room? I thought I just heard some noises coming from up there."

"Oh yeah, they did. They were afraid I was going to eat them." The four others chuckled at Luke's anecdote. "Why? Has this happened before?"

"Well when Nick came about half a year ago they did the same thing." Stu answered Luke. "It's odd, they've known Nick for a while but then they just did this randomly. I wonder why."

"They're probably just bored. Remember how Judy got mischievous when she was their age?" Bonnie replied.

"Wait, what did she do?" Luke asked. Both Nick and him were on the edge of their seats, eyes wide with expectation.

"See, I was so busy in the fields with my tractor and Jude the dude here decided that she wasn't getting enough attention from me, so she decided that I needed to 're-focus'. She ended up stealing my tractor and hiding it in a neighbor's barn a couple miles down the road. I found out when the neighbor finally gave me a call after seeing it in his shed but boy I thought I was losing my marbles." Stu chuckled as Luke and Nick looked at Judy, flabbergasted.

"That's right. Don't mess with me." Judy said with a smug look on her face.

"Come on, we should get breakfast before the morning rush of young ones." Bonnie said as the four got up from the couch and headed toward the dining hall.

Luke sat down at a table with the other four with a towering pile of pancakes and a steaming mug of coffee. Luke drizzled maple syrup onto his breakfast and began to dig in while others did the same. Luke was surprised to see how quickly he made it through the pile of food on his plate. After he finished off the last few bits of food, he washed it down with a swig of coffee and wiped his mouth off with a napkin.

"Luke, after you get all showered we were wondering if you wanted to come tour the field's with us. We can take my dad's tractor. And before you ask, yes, we will stop by the blueberries and pick some to take home." Judy said as she finished off her meal.

"That sounds great!" Luke said while wagging his tail. "Thanks for breakfast Mister and Misses Hopps! I'll be down soon Mom!" Luke bounded up from his chair and quickly went to the bathroom to take a shower. After getting dressed, Luke put on a pair of sunglasses and headed outside to where Nick and Judy were waiting. A large farm-truck was in the driveway and attached to it was a spacious storage-cart for where they would be sitting while Stu drove the truck. Bonnie decided to stay behind to watch the children in case they got into any trouble. Nick, Judy, and Luke hopped into the cart while Stu put the key in the ignition. When the engine roared to life, Stu began the tour of the Hopps family farm.

The four of them toured the massive fields for the better part of the morning, stopping by the carrots and potatoes before making their final destination at the blueberry fields. Luke and Nick could barely control themselves when Stu stopped the truck and they were free to wander around. They each grabbed a pail and wandered around the many lanes lined with blueberry shrubs, picking handfuls of the fruit at a time but also eating plenty along the way.

"Wow, these are incredible. I can't believe Judy grew up right next to this and she chose to leave!" Luke said as he stuffed his mouth with a pawful of berries.

"I know! I would be here 24/7 if I grew up here." Nick replied as he dumped a pile of blueberries into his bucket.

As Nick turned away, a devious smile crept across Luke's muzzle. Luke quickly found a branch of hard, purple berries that had not yet ripened and gathered a bunch in his paw. He looked to make sure Nick was still turned away and threw the stone-like fruit at the back of the fox's neck.

"Hey!" Nick said while rubbing the back of his neck in pain. "What was that for? You're going to be in real trouble." Nick now had a bit of anger in his voice.

"Dad, it was just a joke." Luke replied with a hint of remorse after hearing Nick's tone.

"No, I mean it. You're going to be in real trouble." Nick smiled as he grabbed a pawful of berries and hurled them at the wolf. Luke had no time to react as the berries burst upon his fur coat. Nick burst into laughter.

"Oh you'll pay for that." Luke said as he quickly gathered more fruit to use as ammunition. Nick, seeing Luke stockpile, now began to gather his own while berries flew at him. The two of them took turns taking shelter in the berry shrubs while the other went on an all-out assault, throwing berry after berry. By the end of their battle, both their fur was stained violet. The two trudged back to the tractor to see an appalled Judy.

"Sweet cheese and crackers what happened to you two?" Judy asked while Nick and Luke sat themselves down at the back of the cart.

"Oh, well Luke and I here were both infected by this disease called 'blue-pox'. It lives on blueberries waiting for unsuspecting mammals. Don't worry though, it's only contagious through kissing." Nick said as he gave Judy a kiss right on the lips.

"Gross, you taste like blueberry. You need to wash up. Both of you." Judy said while giving a glare to Luke.

"Aw, cheer up Carrots." Nick said as he gave Judy a hug. "Now Luke!" Nick called out.

Luke quickly scooped up a pile of blueberries that he had hidden in his pocket and threw the bunch at Judy. The blueberries stained her fur, causing it to match Nick and Luke's. Stu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Luke! My fur's all purple now! Why would you do this?" Judy sulked as she began to pick bits of blueberry skin out of her fur.

"It was all Dad's idea", Luke replied innocently while Nick's smirk grew. The three of them moved their filled buckets in the corner while the tractor drove back toward the house.

* * *

After getting themselves cleaned up, the three of them packed their suitcases to get ready to head back to Zootopia. Luke, Nick, and Judy stood at the doorstep saying their goodbyes to Bonnie, Stu, and Judy's many siblings.

"It was great seeing you Luke! Hope to see you again soon!" Bonnie said as she gave Luke a hug.

"Good having you here Luke!" Stu said while giving him a hug. "And good luck telling Sarah!"

Luke had puzzled look on his face before he realized what Stu meant. "Wait, you know the truth about me?"

"Of course dear!" Bonnie replied. "Nick and Judy were never going to keep it a secret from us."

"Well I'm just glad that you're not freaked out." Luke answered.

"Luke if we accepted Nick, whose species we had horrible prejudices against, then we can surely accept anyone. It's not species that matters. It's the personality that really counts." Bonnie answered while Stu nodded affirmatively.

"Thank you guys." Luke smiled while giving them a tight hug. "Bye guys!" Luke waved to the grey sea of bunnies that stood behind their parents.

"Bye Luke!" A chorus of voices rose up from the mass of bunnies as Nick, Luke, and Judy entered a taxi waiting to take them to the station. The three of them soon arrived at the Bunnyburrow station and boarded their train, which departed quickly after their arrival. Luke watched as the rabbit-shaped building disappeared to a dot on the horizon and then to nothing more.

"Hey Luke, you have a big day coming up tomorrow. Why don't you get some sleep? You barely slept at all last night." Judy said.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Luke said as he closed his eyes and sat back. His lack of sleep finally caught up with him and he quickly fell asleep.

Nick looked at the grey wolf, who was calmly resting. He watched as his head bounced with the train's movement on the tracks. Nick didn't notice the smile come across his face but Judy did. His grin said one thing and one thing only:

 _I'm glad Luke is my son._


	18. Chapter 18: Truth Be Told

**Author's note: Hey guys! Just wanted to say that this story has now reached over 7,000 views! So happy to be putting chapters out there for you all and I'm glad I'm getting a great amount of positive feedback. Special thanks to poynton90 for the great amount of compliments I've received from him. Here's another chapter for you! (Edit: This chapter never appeared in the "just in" stream so sorry if it looks like a re-upload).**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 18: Truth Be Told

The next morning, Luke rolled out of bed without any energy. A long nap on the train ride home had made him completely unable to sleep that night. On top of that, Luke also had no desire for the events that the day would hold. Luke decided that today would be the day where he would tell Sarah the truth, and it was a conversation that he was dreading. Luke showered and got dressed but the bags under his eyes were still very prominent. He strolled out to the dining room where Nick was taking up his usual role of reading a newspaper while Judy sipped on a cup of coffee.

"Wow, you look awful Luke." Nick said as Luke served himself a piece of the pie he baked with Gideon.

"Wow, thanks Dad. Way to sugar-coat it." Luke glared at the fox.

"Awful IS sugar-coating it." Nick joked while Luke poured himself a large mug of coffee and sat himself down at the table.

"Drink up Luke, the coffee will make your eyes a little brighter." Judy said as Luke took a large swig of the steaming beverage. "Did you not sleep last night?"

"Yeah, dozing off on the train made it difficult to go to sleep so I just stayed up, lying in bed. I was busy thinking." Luke replied as he ate a large bite of pie. Its taste was just was he was craving for breakfast.

"Thinking about what?" Nick asked as he folded up the newspaper and set it down on the table.

"Sarah." Luke responded. Luke saw Nick and Judy share a worried look and he immediately regretted telling the truth.

"Luke-" Judy began before Luke jumped in.

"Yeah, I know. There's no point stressing myself out about this and it'll all work out in the end but I can't help it Mom! I just can't! Please don't tell me not to freak out about it because I just can't prevent it!" Luke raised his voice, which caused Nick and Judy to immediately back off.

"Luke, please don't snap at us like that. We're just trying to help." Judy said cautiously.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I'm really on-edge today. Please just try and understand that." Luke explained, his voice sounded pained.

"We do Luke, and we know that we can't magically fix everything. If we could, we would. But Luke, no matter what happens today, we still love you Luke. We love you with all our hearts. Please never forget that." Nick said while Luke gave a slight nod.

"I won't. I promise." Luke said as he stared into the emerald irises of the fox.

"Well, as much as I know that Nick loves 'feelings-time', I think it's time that we head off to work. By the way Luke, after work today Nick and I will be going out on a date for the better part of the evening so you'll have to fix dinner for yourself." Judy interjected as she got up to put her coffee mug in the sink. She stopped to give Luke a hug. Luke gave a slight smile and got up to get ready for his day at the lab. He finished off the last few sips of coffee and headed out the door.

* * *

When Luke arrived at the lab, he was surprised to see Sarah not waiting for him by the lockers- their usual meeting place before the workday began. Luke slipped on his lab coat and entered the lab. Sarah was already at their workstation, already busy at work. Luke strolled over to the side of the lab bench without Sarah even noticing his presence.

"Hey"

Sarah jolted back surprised. She quickly scooped up and hid behind her back what Luke saw to be a small white fragment of some kind. She quickly put on a smile.

"Hey!" Sarah said while she gave Luke a kiss.

"What do you have behind your back?" Luke asked. However, Luke's curiosity did not faze Sarah.

"Oh, it's nothing." Sarah smiled. She clenched the piece of tooth tightly in her paw.

" _Guess I'm not the only one with secrets. Not my business though."_ Luke thought as he decided to change the subject. "So you ready to get back to work?"

"Yeah! I actually did some research about this virus. I noticed some peculiarities about it and tried to match it with other viruses that had similar characteristics and I'm telling you, I haven't found anything that has quite this combination of traits." Sarah informed Luke.

"Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Luke asked, his eyes were wide with anticipation.

"Luke, I believe this virus is something new. Something that the world has never seen before." Sarah's voice was full of excitement at the prospect of a new discovery.

"Really? That's incredible! How much of the virus do we have left?" Luke spoke very quickly, barely able to contain himself.

"We don't have anymore of the sample that we got from the crime scene but I prepared some viral cultures to examine infectivity while you were gone. We can always get more by extracting from the culture." Sarah replied.

"Great! Let's take a look!" Luke bounced up as he and Sarah got the materials to prepare the cultures for examination. Luke observed the plates carefully before asking;

"What kind of cells are these?" Luke asked as he pointed to the plate.

"Oh, here the use cells from all around, really whoever is willing to donate. The label says these here are raccoon cells. I think that's a safe for us to use. Raccoon cells are generally used as a sure-bet. If we don't see anything then we may have an issue but we'll deal with that if it comes. Sound good?" Sarah said as she set the plates down on the table.

"Yeah, let's do it." Luke answered as they began their work in the lab. After prepping the cultures for examination, Sarah stopped before looking into the microscope

"So Luke, what do you think about a little date night after work? I want to hear all about your trip to Bunnyburrow. It seems like quite an interesting place to visit." Sarah sat back in the chair as she smiled at Luke.

"That sounds wonderful Sarah! Mom and Dad are going out too so it works out I guess." Luke said as Sarah's smile grew at Luke's response.

"Great! I have a surprise for you so you'll just have to wait and see." Sarah replied. She noticed Luke's expression, a mixture of excitement and curiosity, and she couldn't do anything but smile.

The two of them used up the better part of the day, retrieving the results of their cultures. They were both taken aback by what they saw.

"Wow, did the virus really do all this?" Luke marveled at how much the virus had spread. "How long did you wait?"

"A little less than a full day." Sarah informed Luke. She, too, was surprised by the findings.

"That's less than the average wait time for viral cultures! This virus must be quite infective. Do you know what this means?" Luke's demeanor grew dark as he said that last question.

"No, what is it Luke?" Sarah asked nervously.

"Think about it Sarah. We find a virus that doesn't match anything on record. We found said virus in a secret laboratory that is labeled as a drug-lab. Sound suspicious?" Sarah's eyes widened as she realized what Luke was getting at.

"You- you think someone is trying to manufacture a bioweapon?" Sarah asked alarmed. Luke simply nodded to confirm what they both feared. "We have to let Nick and Judy know!" Sarah exclaimed. Luke, without reply, rushed up with Sarah to Nick and Judy's office space. Their hearts sank when they saw the room was empty.

"Where could they be?" Luke said nervously.

"Beats me, let's see if Clawhauser can reach them. Come on." Sarah said as she grabbed Luke's paw as they darted toward the lobby of the ZPD. They ran up to the cheetah, who was sitting contently in his chair.

"Clawhauser!" Sarah shouted which immediately grabbed his attention.

"Oh hey you two!" Clawhauser beamed as the Luke and Sarah scrambled over.

"Clawhauser, can you reach Nick and Judy? It's urgent!" Luke stammered as Clawhauser realized the severity of the situation.

"Oh, okay. I'll try right now." Clawhauser picked up his radio but after a slight passage of time, he set it down and shook his head. "Their signal is blocked. I believe they went to patrol the rainforest district and we've been having a fair amount of signal disruptions there recently. Sorry guys. You might just have to catch them when they come back."

"That won't work!" Luke said while turning to Sarah. "They're going on their date straight from patrol so I won't see them until late at night."

"Can't you just call them?" Sarah asked.

"They left both their phones at home. They almost always leave them behind out of fear that they'll get damaged on the job." Luke replied with disappointment.

"Then what do we do?" Sarah wondered anxiously.

"I think the best we can do is just for you to come back home with me after our date and we can tell them then." Luke replied. "I know it's not ideal but it's the best we can do."

"I guess it really is the only option." Sarah answered. "Alright, lets go record our results and then we should be done for the day. At least until we have to tell Nick and Judy."

The two of them spent the rest of the workday full of anxiety, knowing they needed to let Nick and Judy know as soon as possible. As they finally hung up their lab coats, the two left the ZPD to go on their date. Sarah saw Luke looking very despondent as they took a cab to wherever Sarah had planned for the two of them to go.

"Hey, show me that smile Luke. We'll figure it out. We always do." Sarah said as she looked into Luke's brown eyes. "We've got my surprise to go to."

"You're right, I'm just nervous. Speaking of which, I'm also nervous for what's in that bag of yours." Luke gave a chuckle as he tried to sneak a peek into the bag that Sarah had with her but she quickly yanked it out of his reach.

"No you don't mister" Sarah lightly smacked Luke's paw away. "You'll see soon enough."

The two of them continued talking as the taxi drove up to the grassy hills that lined the border between Savannah Central and the Rainforest District. When they finally reached the crest of a hill, Sarah paid the driver and they walked out onto the grassy slope. The sun was just beginning to make its descent over Zootopia, its orange rays reflected off the large body of water at the base of the city.

Sarah opened up her bag and produced a large blanket. She spread it out over the grassy terrain and took a seat with Luke. As she opened her bag again, she produced a large container of cricket stir-fry.

"Wow Sarah, this looks wonderful!" Luke smiled as Sarah served him a plate of food.

"Thanks, I made it myself. That's not all though." Sarah said as she took out a bottle of wine from the bag along with two plastic cups.

"Here we are working for the ZPD yet we're law breakers too." Luke chuckled. "You seem to have found your rebellious side that I didn't know you had. I don't know you."

"Life is short enough Luke. Learn to let loose a little." Sarah smiled as she poured him a glass before helping herself.

"I'm not complaining." Luke smiled as he looked at Sarah. The sun's amber rays had caused Sarah's azure eyes to take on the same fiery appearance as they had the night of their first date.

"Cheers" Sarah smiled as they tapped their plastic cups together and took a sip. The two sat back as they ate, talking about Luke's trip to Bunnyburrow. They watched as the sun dipped below the horizon, both were pressed up against each other as the light faded along the horizon. When the night sky finally arrived, the two packed up the materials from the picnic and decided to head back to Luke's apartment.

"You want me to call a cab?" Sarah asked as she took out her phone.

"Nah, my house isn't too far. We can walk if you want." Luke replied.

"Yeah, I'd love to." Sarah smiled as the two headed down the hill in the moonlight.

* * *

"Wow, you have a really nice room Luke. Very spacious." Sarah said as the two walked into Luke's bedroom.

"Yeah, I like it in here." Luke replied. Sarah smiled and hopped onto Luke's bed. She bounced up and down from her initial leap onto the mattress. Luke and Sarah both had a slight laugh as Luke threw himself down onto the mattress. He too, like Sarah, bounced back up.

"What time did you say Nick and Judy would be home?" Sarah asked with a slight hint of curiosity.

"They won't be back for another couple hours. So I guess we'll be waiting until then. What do you wanna do?" Luke asked Sarah, who now had a grin on her face.

"I don't know. I'm sure we'll find something to occupy the time." Sarah said as she planted her paw on Luke's chest and shoved him down onto the bed. Sarah quickly planted her lips firmly onto his.

Maybe it was one too many glasses of wine but Luke felt his inhibition slip. He kissed Sarah passionately as she ran her paw through his grey fur. These kisses were like nothing that had ever happened between them before. They were absolutely electrifying. Luke and Sarah pressed up against each other and simply let instinct take over. As Sarah ran her muzzle up Luke's neck, Luke was taken away from the bliss of their evening as thoughts began to creep into his head.

" _I still haven't told her. It'll only be more difficult if the evening actually heads to where I think it's going."_ Luke thought as he parted lips with Sarah.

"What's the matter Luke? Is this not working for you?" Sarah asked.

"No it's not that. I just need to go to the bathroom for a second. I'll be right back." Luke said as he got up from the bed.

"Okay, don't be too long." Sarah replied with a wry smile as Luke left the room, closing the door behind him.

Luke hurried to the bathroom across the hall. He quickly turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face. He put his paws on the mirror and stared back into his brown eyes.

" _You can do this Luke. Just tell Sarah the truth."_ Luke thought as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was so close that his muzzle was nearly pressed against the cool glass. " _Alright, here we go."_

Luke dried his face off with a towel and returned to the outside of his room. He took a deep breath and entered to where Sarah was waiting.

"Sarah, there's something I-" Luke was interrupted by seeing Sarah sitting on the bed, staring at a photo in her paw.

"Luke, what are these things? Did you photoshop them or something?" Sarah asked as she held up the photo. Luke's heart sunk as he saw the photo of him and Sofia clenched in Sarah's paw.

"Sarah, that's me." Luke replied. For once he did not want to meet Sarah's eyes. However, Sarah simply burst into laughter.

"Oh come on Luke. You can't fool me. Seriously, how'd you make this picture?" Sarah continued to laugh but it quickly faded upon seeing Luke's blank expression.

"I took it Sarah. There's something that I haven't told you but I owe you the truth. I wasn't born in Bunnyburrow. That 'thing' in the picture is a human. It was me." Luke paused to hear what Sarah was thinking.

"Luke, you're starting to scare me." Sarah said cautiously.

"Sarah, about two months ago I was attacked by a bear." Luke said as he took the photo from Sarah and pointed a claw to his human-self while he also produced an object from his pocket. "This was on the bear. It is not a good-luck charm. It was what got me here, to Zootopia. I woke up in the forest outside the city, but I was different. I wasn't this." Luke pointed to the photo. "I was this" Luke gestured to his wolf-self. "Nick and Judy let me stay with them and they sort of became my parents. I fell in love with you and despite having the choice to leave I wanted to stay. I love you Sarah and I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."

Sarah looked at him with a blank expression, absolutely silent.

"Sarah, I'm sorry. Please tell me what you're thinking." Luke pleaded. His eyes began to tear up. Finally, without change of expression, Sarah spoke.

"I don't know you."

Luke was stunned. He had no idea how to react to Sarah's words. They were blunt. They forced their way against him and seemed to knock the air out of him.

"Sarah, yes you do. I'm the same person that you've always known. I can't apologize enough for why I withheld this part of my past." Luke could no longer withhold his tears as they started to roll down his cheek.

"Yeah? And why didn't you tell me?" Sarah's voice was cold with resentment.

"I had no choice Sarah! I couldn't just drop a bombshell like that on our first date so I panicked and lied. I knew right then that it was a mistake but please just try and understand why I did it."

"Yeah, let me guess. You did it just to save your own hide? Instead of telling me the truth like an adult you lied right to my face. That's nothing but selfish Luke. You're nothing but selfish." Sarah's words were razor sharp. They sliced right through Luke's thin temper.

"Selfish? SELFISH?! You _cannot_ call me selfish, Sarah! Not after what I did for you." Luke lashed out.

"Oh, are you talking about where you heroically pushed me away from a speeding car? Because I didn't _ask_ you to do that! You think I wanted to see you stuck in the hospital?!" Sarah spat back at Luke.

"Of course not! I did it to protect you Sarah! I wasn't thinking about myself! I struggled so much to tell you the truth but when an opportunity for me to return back home arose I just had to think things through. I was always going to tell you!" Luke shouted.

"Well you missed your shot to opt of this great 'struggle'. If you were so conflicted then it would've been a lot easier for you if the car just killed you right then and there."

Those words hurt Luke more than the car itself.

Luke snatched the pendant up from his desk and in its place, slapped his phone down. He heard Sarah call out his name but it was no use. Luke only had the crystal with him as he stormed out of Nick and Judy's apartment. He didn't bother to look back as he called over a taxi and sped off into the night.

* * *

Luke used the crystal's illumination to guide him to the step of the large grey structure. He paused at the doorstep, crystal bright in his paws, and he began to reflect on his conversation with Nick and Judy earlier in the morning.

" _We love you with all of our hearts. Please don't forget that."_

"This is a mistake. I can't just leave them." Luke muttered to himself as he reared away from the doorstep. He paused when he heard a familiar voice call out.

"Luke? Luke is that you?"

Luke turned back to see Dr. Meles open the door. The badger's beady eyes focused on the wolf.

"Hi, Dr. Meles. I was just-"

"Oh, please do come in. You'll get eaten alive by mosquitos out here. We'll talk inside." The badger interrupted Luke and motioned for him to enter, which Luke did. As Dr. Meles closed the door behind him and sat down, he saw two large polar bears standing at the sides of the room.

"Who are they?" Luke asked as he pointed to the two polar bears.

"Oh, they're just security for the lab." Dr. Meles replied. "So what brings you here Luke?"

"Well, I was just thinking about my decision and I thought about leaving and returning back to Earth but I've had a sudden change of heart. I'm sorry for disturbing you so late." Luke answered.

"Oh, it's no problem at all Luke. Is that all?" The badger said.

"Yes, that's all. Thanks. I can go and get out of your hair now." Luke said as he got up from his seat and headed towards the door.

"Oh, come on Luke. Let's not be in such a rush to leave." Dr. Meles replied with a strangely cold tone. Luke turned to see the two polar bears now walking briskly towards him. Luke frantically tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge. "It won't be the biggest tragedy if you keep Nick and Judy waiting. You'll be dead anyway."

Luke felt the strong paws of the polar bears grab onto him. His combat skills were finally put to the test. Luke quickly turned and swung with his claws. He heard a yelp as he raked his claws along the face of one of the polar bears. Luke saw the blood drip on the floor and knew he was successful. However, he knew he had to act fast since the bear would only be fazed momentarily. Luke spun around and extended his leg so his heel smashed right into the other bear's ribcage. He felt the grip upon him loosen and he was able to break free. Just as he managed to pry himself from the bear's grasp, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. As Luke pulled the dart out of his skin, he collapsed upon the ground and his vision began to blur.

That last thing Luke could make out was Dr. Meles standing over him with a gun in his paw.


	19. Chapter 19: One Shot

**Author's Note: Well that last chapter was dramatic. I really enjoyed writing it and thought about how the fight would go down for days. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I hope you guys agree. Enjoy the next chapter! (Edit: Once again, uploading did not cause the story to show up in the 'just in' stream. Sorry if you think I've put a new chapter up. Chapter 20 will come out ASAP).**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 19: One Shot

Luke opened his eyes but immediately snapped them shut as the harsh light overwhelmed his senses. He reached up the cover his eyes with his paws but was startled to find his wrists bound tightly to the arms of the chair he was sitting in. Luke quickly reopened his eyes, realizing he was in Meles' lab. He looked down to see his legs and arms tied to the frame of the chair. Luke's heart now began to race.

" _Nick and Judy have no idea where I am. I left my phone at the house. I just left. Right after Sarah- Sarah."_ Luke's blood began to boil as he recalled the events of last night. _"Right after she wished me dead. Now I'm actually going to die. At least it'll make her happy."_ Luke's toxic thoughts continued to circulate.

The slamming of a door behind him brought Luke back to reality. He tried to crane his neck around to see who was approaching but his compromised mobility made his attempts futile. As he heard the light footsteps approach him from behind, Luke immediately knew who it was. Dr. Meles stood in front of Luke; his face was twisted with malice.

"Hello Luke, sleep well?" The badger asked innocently.

"What do you want from me?" Luke spat back. He showed his sharp fangs but the badger didn't flinch.

"Oh Luke, you came here to talk. So please, why don't we?" Meles asked coldly. "Would you like to start?"

Luke curled his lip and spat at the badger, spittle landing at the feet of his captor. The badger smiled sinisterly before replying to the wolf.

"If that's how you want to play. Guards!" Meles called out. The door behind Luke opened once again as he heard heavy footsteps upon the tiled floor. Luke didn't bother looking back. He just stared hatefully into the badger's eyes. "Guards, make the wolf talk to me." Meles requested with venomous sweetness.

Luke howled in pain as he felt sharp, powerful claws dig into his shoulder. It may have only lasted for a couple seconds but for Luke it felt like an eternity. Luke struggled wildly, causing the chair to shake with each contortion of his body. When the pain finally eased up, Luke looked down to see blood dripping down from his wounds onto the white tile floor. The guards took a step back from Luke while Meles brought himself down to Luke's eye-level.

"So, Luke. How about that talk now?" The badger beamed at the wolf. Luke nodded slowly; his eyes were watering from the pain that had been inflicted.

"Very good!" Meles responded to Luke's nod. "Please, whatever you want to talk about."

"Why am I here?" Luke asked.

"Well Luke, _you_ of all people should know. After all, you came here of your own accord." Luke's eyes met the black, beady eyes of the badger.

"You know damn well what I meant, Meles. Why am I here?" Luke threw his head down to the floor to gesture to the laboratory.

"Well it wasn't always my plan for you to be here, Luke. Had the car done its job on that night a couple months back then we wouldn't have to deal with this now." Meles replied. Luke could barely comprehend what the badger was saying to him.

"How did you know about the car?" Luke asked accusatorily.

"Oh Luke, you're a bright kid. I think you know how I knew about it." Meles' voice was cold.

Luke paused before he responded with a cautious nod. "You sent it, didn't you?"

"Indeed." The badger nodded contently. "See, I knew right from the start that you are a brave kid, foolish, but brave. I saw how you didn't back down from the bear, Arctos. I figured that with courage like that, you wouldn't hesitate to help someone in the face of danger."

"How the hell do you know what I did in the face of the bear? You weren't there to watch the fight." Luke questioned curtly. The badger simply chuckled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pendant.

" _He must have nicked it off me when I was unconscious."_ Luke thought as the badger began to turn the pendant over in his paw.

"This handy little thing right here, Luke, has more than one purpose. You thought it was just your route to home but it was also my route, to you." Dr. Meles informed a glaring Luke. "You may not realize it Luke, but I've been with you for much longer than you've realized."

The badger walked over to his desk and turned a computer monitor towards Luke. Dr. Meles set the pendant down on what Luke inferred to be some sort of docking-station. Dr. Meles switched on the monitor, bringing up an array of what Luke thought to be images but he couldn't quite tell what the monitor displayed.

"I've been with you Luke, I've been there through all the good times." Dr. Meles said as he clicked on one of icons of the monitor. Luke watched as the monitor began to play a video. The monitor showed Luke staring at the screen. From what Luke could tell, he was sitting in a taxi. His grey fur had an amber tint from the sun's rays. The video showed Luke staring, looking perplexed.

" _Luke, what's that?"_ Sarah's voice played.

" _Oh, nothing. Just a good-luck charm Nick and Judy gave me."_ Luke heard his voice reply. Upon hearing the dialogue, Luke immediately realized that the video was from his first date with Sarah, when they took the taxi to the concert.

"Of course…" Dr. Meles said, breaking Luke's train of thought. "I've also been with you through the bad."

The video on the screen now changed to a new scene. Luke immediately recognized the image as his room. He heard Sarah's angry voice play on speaker and his fur immediately stood up on end.

" _If you were so conflicted then it would've been a lot easier for you if the car just killed you right then and there."_

When the video switched off, Luke simply sat still. His face was void of all emotion. The badger picked up the pendant and casually strolled over to Luke.

"How is _she_ by the way Luke? Have things hit a bit of a rough patch?" Dr. Meles said mockingly.

"Shut up." Luke muttered under his breath. He dug his claws into the armrests of the chair. He still refused to make eye contact with his captor.

"What was that Luke?" The badger asked sweetly.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

Luke attempted to fight the restraints and lunge at Dr. Meles. The badger was ultimately unfazed by Luke's sudden outburst. Luke bared his fangs at his foe as he was yanked back by the bindings around him.

"Dear oh dear Luke. Surely you should know that's not a way to treat your host." Dr. Meles chided. He turned to face the polar bears. "Boys, perhaps we should show Luke where such a _fiery_ temper ultimately gets someone."

The two polar bears walked in front of Luke, causing his brown eyes to widen with fear. He watched as the two large bears approached Luke with tongs in their paws. Carried by them were several red, glowing, hot coals. Luke struggled wildly but it was no use. He howled in pain as the coals were placed down on his arms, the smell of burning fur immediately invaded his nostrils. The searing pain was too much for Luke to take as his vision went black.

* * *

Luke opened his eyes to the unwanted familiarity of the harsh light. He immediately felt the pain in his shoulders. As Luke gained his composure, he took a deep breath and looked over at his shoulders.

Luke had to stifle a shriek. While the blood had dried on his fur around the claw wounds, the swelling was horrific. He attempted to move his shoulders a bit by shrugging but there was far too much pain. Luke looked down at his arms to see what damage the coals had caused.

Although the area where the coals had been placed was blackened, the burn was not quite as bad as Luke expected. There would certainly be scarring, but his fur would shed and a new coat would cover up the scar tissue.

" _They must've stopped burning me after I passed out."_ Luke inferred as he assessed his injuries. " _How much time has passed?"_ Luke asked himself. " _I've certainly been here for at least a day, given the amount of time I've been out cold."_

Luke looked up sharply as he heard footsteps approach him. Dr. Meles walked up to Luke and took a seat directly across from the wolf. Luke, once again, struggled to even make eye contact with the badger. Meles was winning over Luke. The cracks were already evident.

Luke was breaking.

"So, Luke. Have you learned your lesson? Do you want to try and be more civil this time?" The badger asked patronizingly.

"You have no right to lecture me on civility, Meles." Luke retorted. His words seemed full of venom but Luke was struggling to hold himself together. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"The answer is simple, Luke. You know everything." The badger replied.

"Know everything about what?" Luke spat back.

"About the future Luke, about the future." The badger answered while Luke puzzled expression only grew. The badger walked over to a large pot for cryogenic storage and opened it up. Luke watched as the layer of fog spilled out over the lid of the vat and spread over the floor. He looked on as Meles put on a pair of cryo-gloves and took out a vial from the frozen chamber.

"Tell me Luke, since I know you're a smart kid, do you know what _Lyssavirus_ is?" Dr. Meles asked.

Luke gulped with anxiety before he replied. "The genus of the rabies virus."

"Precisely." The badger smiled at Luke's nervousness. Dr. Meles returned the vial to the cryo-pot and walked over to the computer monitor. After pulling up an image, he directed the screen towards Luke. "Tell me Luke, is this anything you recognize?"

Luke could barely believe what he was seeing. The image displayed the same virus that Luke had seen the other day with Sarah. Everything was exactly the same. They hadn't discovered something new. They had uncovered something sinister.

"You- you were going to use rabies as a bioweapon?" Luke asked appalled.

"You are very quick to catch on." Meles replied. "See, you were never supposed to come here. But when you did I had to eliminate you as soon as possible. No other mammal in Zootopia knows about rabies and I wanted the element of surprise when I launched my attack. I saw how much of an interest in medicine you have and on top of your unfortunate affiliation with the ZPD, I knew you would be hot on my trail. When you discovered my lab in the Rainforest District I knew I had to get rid of you fast and now here you are!"

"How did you even manage to get hold of the virus? Why would you do this?" Luke asked frantically while the badger returned to his seat.

"Oh Luke. Zootopia's principles stand against our fundamental nature as animals. Every mammal for himself; that's what's right. I knew I had the smarts to take over Zootopia, but what I needed were bodies; mammals for support. You remember me telling you about my friend, a bear named Arctos?" Dr. Meles asked.

"Yeah." Luke nodded in response.

"I'll tell you the truth about him. Call it your parting gift for your journey to the afterlife." The badger snickered. "You see, he didn't just attack me like I said he did. We went way back, Arctos and I. We both firmly believed in the separation of species so he gladly helped me. We traveled to your world, Earth, to see what we could use to bend the public in our favor. After we discovered rabies, we brought it back here and began to increase the amount of pathogen. Arctos, however, began to show weakness. He told me that we should maybe find a less lethal way to re-instill the aggressive nature of animals; a way that wouldn't cause the whole of Zootopia to collapse into anarchy. He told me he was done, finished working. But as it so turned out, he ended up helping me one last time." Dr. Meles pointed at the computer screen, which displayed the image of the virus while a sour smile grew on the badger's face.

"You- you infected him?" Luke asked disturbed.

"I needed a test subject." Meles shrugged off Luke's concern. "I infected him and then locked him up. After noticing the grand success, I had no use for him anymore so I sent him off to your world. Where, unfortunately, he didn't bite you."

"You're- you're deranged. You're twisted." Luke stammered.

"I did what I had to do Luke. And I'll hold myself to the same principles when I kill you." The badger replied. "You remind me of myself Luke. You hold a lot of resentment, a lot of hatred, within you. In the end it's all got to go somewhere. Dark clouds can't hold their rain forever." Meles finished as he strolled out of the room.

* * *

Several hours later, Meles returned. He was carrying a tray with a bowl of broth for Luke.

"Eat. You must be hungry and I don't want your death to be from starvation. It's not fun for either of us." The badger stated as he extended a mini-table from the back of the chair. Dr. Meles set the tray on the table, which met Luke right at mouth-level. He slipped in a straw for Luke to drink the broth. Luke, however, refused to touch it.

" _He probably poisoned it._ " Luke thought. He fought the enticing vapors from the soup that wafted toward his nose. Just as the badger got up to leave, Luke spoke up.

"You're right."

Dr. Meles turned around to face Luke. "Right about what?"

"Hatred. It's pent-up inside me. And I know exactly whom it's for: Nick and Judy. They forced me to stay here. I never wanted to be part of their family. I wanted to leave. I never liked them. In fact, I brought them here when we first met to watch them suffer over my fate. If you're going to kill me, I want them to know what I really thought of them." Luke stated. He forced anger into his eyes.

"And how will you do that? You must take me for some idiot if you think I'd let you contact them." The badger scoffed.

"Send them a video of me speaking. Just of my face and nothing more. Encrypt the location. Make it impossible for them to find me. I don't care. Just let my words be heard." Luke replied.

"Fine, your _final_ wish. But if you try any funny business I'll make sure to make your death even more… creative. I'll easily be able to delete your video since I'll be the one sending it." Meles answered sinisterly.

"No funny business." Luke stated. Meles nodded as he went to go get a camera for Luke to record his confession of hate to Nick and Judy. The badger returned quickly with a camera and a tripod. The camera focused in on Luke's face. Meles held up his paw to signal that it was recording. Luke took a deep breath before he spoke, but his thoughts were running wild.

" _One shot. Make it count."_


	20. Chapter 20: Rewind

**Author's Note: Hey guys. So yeah, Luke's situation isn't too great right now. How about we take a little trip back in time to right after Luke and Sarah's date? Enjoy chapter 20! (EDIT: Once again I have to re-upload. If anyone knows why the story is updating but not cycling back to the top of the stream then please send me a PM for a fix.)**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 20: Rewind

(Earlier)

" _Why did I say that? What the hell is wrong with me?"_ Sarah sat hunched over on Luke's bed. Her face was buried in her white-furred paws as she agonized over the harsh exchange of words with Luke. " _He was vulnerable, delicate. And I just kicked him while he was down on the ground. He needed me and I just let him fall."_

" _I'm the one that's selfish."_ Sarah's eyes filled with tears as she buried her face into Luke's pillow. She wanted nothing more than for her to just turn back the clock. She wanted Luke to be right by her side, for her to be able to take back her words and cast them into oblivion.

All she could picture was Luke's brown eyes, full of pain.

Sarah continued to sob into the pillow. She was so caught-up with her emotions that she didn't even hear the door to Luke's room creak open.

"Sarah?! What's wrong? Where's Luke?" Judy asked worriedly as she rushed over to the bed to comfort the crying wolf. Nick, too, rushed over when he saw Sarah in such a state of distress. Sarah refused to pick her head up from the pillow. Judy and Nick could only look on as they heard the pained cries coming from the wolf.

"Sarah, it's going to be okay." Nick said as Judy put her paw onto Sarah's heaving back. Her sorrow seemed to be unrelenting. As one wave of tears passed the next came rolling right in. The three stayed in Luke's room for the next 15 minutes, nothing but the muffled sound of Sarah's sobs was heard.

Sarah slowly picked her face up from the pillow and faced Judy and Nick, who had done nothing but comfort her during her tempest of emotion. The sleek, white fur under her eyes was richly stained with her tears.

"Sarah, please. Let's talk. What's going on?" Judy requested as Sarah dried her eyes off with a tissue.

"Luke told me the truth- about him." Sarah choked out. "We- we got into a fight. It was all my fault." Sarah buried her face into her paws as she broke into tears once more.

"Sarah, tell us what happened. Nick and I want to help make it right." Judy assured the wolf. Nick, however, stood there emotionless.

"When he told me, I was shocked." Sarah sniffed as Judy waited for her to continue. "He told me that he was struggling to tell me but I just got angry; unjustifiably angry. I was so wrapped up with myself that I didn't even bother to acknowledge his reasons for not telling me. I yelled at him. I called him selfish. I- I told him that the car should've killed him." Sarah burst into tears as she concluded her retelling of the fight.

Judy was shocked at what Sarah had just told her. She retracted her paw from the grieving wolf. Once again, the only thing preventing silence in the room was the sound of Sarah's sobs.

" _I told Luke that it would be fine. That it would work out."_ Judy thought as Sarah continued to cry into her paws. Nick continued to stand at the side of the bed, gazing down at Sarah. His face was void of all emotion.

"Sarah, what did Luke do after you said that?" Judy asked softly.

"He ran off!" Sarah cried. "I don't know where he is and he left his phone here. Please, we have to find him." Sarah took her face out of her paws and gazed up at Nick's stone-cold face.

"You selfish bitch." Nick looked back at Sarah. His voice was dangerously soft.

"Nick!" Judy shouted, appalled.

"He needed you." Nick continued in the same razor-thin tone as tears rolled down the contour of Sarah's face. "And you hurt him."

"I know." Sarah replied sullenly.

"Nick, stop!"

"YOU HURT HIM!" Nick's temper burst. His voice was at the top of the lungs. Judy jumped back. She had never seen Nick so angry before.

"I KNOW!" Sarah wailed. She knew Nick had a right to be angry. She expected nothing less. She believed she deserved it.

"You hurt him and now he's-!" Nick yelled but was interrupted when a grey paw swung out at him. He felt a sharp pain on the side of his face. Nick stumbled back as he recovered from Judy's slap. Sarah had stopped crying upon seeing Judy's sudden act of aggression. Nick, regaining his composure, turned back to face Sarah.

"He's gone. My son is gone." Nick said defeated as he walked slowly out of the room and shut the door behind him. Judy and Sarah sat in silence for a few moments before Judy finally opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm sorry Sarah, he didn't mean it. He's just worried about Luke." Judy put her paw on Sarah's back.

"He was right though. I am selfish. Luke got hit by a car for me and this is how I repay him?" Sarah replied hopelessly.

"You're not selfish Sarah. I know you didn't mean what you said and that's why I'm not mad at you. Don't get me wrong, what you said was in no sense right but the fact that you're this distraught shows that you're genuinely sorry." Judy answered. "We'll find him Sarah. He'll either come back or we'll hunt him down. Either way, Luke will be back where he belongs."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you treating me with such compassion after what I did to your son?" Sarah asked the rabbit.

"Because, Sarah, I know what its like to say such poisonous words to someone you love." Judy replied as she glanced at the door, wondering if Nick had heard what she just said. It had been years since that fateful day at the press conference.

Sarah nodded while Judy gave her a comforting hug and then got up from the bed. "I'll be back Sarah. I need to have a word with Nick." Judy added as she passed through the room's threshold and closed the door gently behind her.

* * *

Judy quietly entered her and Nick's bedroom to see the fox sitting on their bed in silence while he stared out the window. Just as Judy opened her mouth to give Nick a piece of her mind he began to speak.

"We told him it would be okay Judy" Nick said, refraining from his wife's nickname. He's gaze didn't leave the window.

"I know Nick." Judy answered softly as she sat down next to her husband.

"We failed him Judy. We lied to him and he left us. Luke left us." Nick buried his face into his paws. Judy was about to speak but she paused when she heard strange sounds coming from Nick. It took her a second to realize what was going on- Nick was crying. In the 3 years they had spent with each other, Judy had never seen Nick cry before. While she had taught Nick how to open himself up more to her, some emotions he just never seemed to show, sadness being one of them.

"Nick, he probably just went to cool-off after fighting with Sarah." Judy hugged her sobbing husband.

"Judy." Nick took his face out of his paws. His emerald eyes were glassy with tears. "He left _everything_. He left his phone so clearly he doesn't want us to reach him. He stormed off into the night and didn't contact us. This all came right after he made his decision to stay. Luke is in a delicate situation. He easily could have changed his mind."

"Now is not the time to jump to conclusions. In the neighboring room we have a grieving wolf, who I tried to comfort but instead only felt more at fault after she was yelled at. We'll wait the night for Luke to come back and if he doesn't come by morning, that's when we worry. Until then, I highly suggest that you apologize to Sarah. If we do end up having to search for Luke, then we'll need to work with her. She's the last person that saw him." Judy replied as she gave a tight embrace to the fox, who now began to dry the tears on his auburn fur.

"Until morning?" Nick asked.

"Until morning." Judy nodded affirmatively. The rabbit gave the fox another quick hug as the two left their bedroom.

* * *

"I'll be back Sarah. I need to have a word with Nick."

Sarah watched as Judy left Luke's bedroom. Once again, she was alone. As soon as she heard another door close down the hall, Sarah got up from the bed and quietly tiptoed to the patio outside the apartment. She sat down on one of the two chairs that faced the towering buildings around the apartment. The lights of neighboring buildings shone down on her white fur as she sat admiring the tranquil atmosphere of the night.

Sarah reached into her pocket and took out a photo of Luke. Luke was his human-self in the image. Sarah clutched the photo in her paw as she stared down at Luke, who up until recently she thought had been a wolf. Luke was smiling with another girl in the picture. Sarah could've sworn that Luke said during their fight that the girl in the photo was his sister but she had been too angry to pay attention.

"I love you." Sarah whispered, as she gazed at the smiling portrait of the human named Luke. "You may hate me now. If you do, I understand. I hate me too. But I love you." Sarah's voice was light and airy.

"I'm so sorry Luke. I'm sorry for what I said. I was shallow and cold-hearted. I don't expect you to forgive me. Not after what I said. But please come back. Do it for Nick and Judy. They love you and can't stand to lose you. Please Luke." Sarah's wispy voice drifted through the air. Her blue eyes remained focused on the image of Luke.

"You had your reasons for not telling me the truth. I should've seen it then but I was blinded by my own pride. I know I snapped, but I can't stand to lose you. I said 'I didn't ask for the car to hit you' because I wouldn't be able to look myself in the mirror if a worse fate was in-store. Luke, we need you back. I need you back." Sarah's eyes began to well up with tears while a gentle breeze began to blow through her fur.

"I don't care how long it takes. It can be days, weeks, and months. For any measure of time, I'll wait for you Luke. I'll wait for you to realize how much I regret hurting you. I'm not begging for forgiveness. I'm pleading that you understand how remorseful I am. Come hell or high water, I'll wait for you Luke."

Sarah looked down at the photo. Her tears had begun to drip on to the human figure of Luke. Sarah dried the photo off with her shirt, kissed the smiling image of Luke, and slipped it back into her pocket. She stared at the night sky as the wind continued to lightly blow around her. She closed her eyes, wishing for the night breeze to whisk her away. For a fleeting moment, Sarah's mind was clear of the invasive thought. She was engrossed by the tranquility of the night. However, her brief period of bliss came to an end when she heard footstep come up behind her. Sarah made no movement as the fox sat down next to her. Both of them focused on the night-scene.

"Calming out here, isn't it? This spot is one of Luke's favorites." Nick said quietly as a police siren went off in the distance. Sarah didn't respond, she kept her focus forward.

"I'm sorry that I yelled Sarah. Please try to understand that in the end, I'm in the same boat as you. We both want Luke back in our lives." Nick's gaze also stayed in the distance.

"I know you were acting on your emotions." Sarah replied calmly. "I was the same way to Luke. I'm sure we both want to take back what we said but we can only move forward. In the end, your words were accurate Nick. I was a selfish bitch who hurt Luke. You spoke the truth Nick. It hurt, but it was the truth. When the damage is already done, the best thing we can do as mammals is just to move on."

"Thanks." Nick replied bluntly. The two sat in a few moments of silence before Nick opened his mouth again. "You want to know how Carrots and I met Luke?"

Sarah gave a faint smile. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"You know that weasel that carries bootleg movies? Down in the run-down industrial sector of Savannah Central?"

Sarah nodded in reply.

"Well, we were asked to patrol in that general area one day. It was a very slow-moving day. Not a whole lot going on. But we turned a corner and saw a large group of animals backing away from the area of the movie-stand. That's when we heard what the mammals in the crowd were talking about; night howlers." Nick told Sarah.

"Night howlers?!" Sarah asked shocked. She had been there when the attacks of Bellwether occurred. She remembered those times clearly as her father had instructed her to remain indoors out of concern of harm coming to her from disgruntled prey.

"I know! That's why we ran over. If someone had night howlers, we needed to arrest them right away. Anyways, we sprint over and force ourselves through the crowd only to find a terrified grey wolf. Three guesses what his name was." Nick smiled as Sarah chuckled. "He saw us running up and his eyes grew wide with fear. He simply stood there rigid. Have you ever seen that look from him? It's quite amusing."

Sarah nodded before laughing. "Yeah, he did the exact same thing when he asked me out for the first time." This caused a big laugh from Nick who simply shook his head at Luke's shy behavior.

"So Luke starts blubbering like a mad-mammal. He pleads that he didn't do anything so we asked the crowd who told them that this poor wolf had night howlers and they all said a weasel yelled it. We've arrested this weasel in the past so he's not the most credible of figures. After the crowd left, we took Luke out for coffee to make it up to him and he sort of grew into our lives." Nick finished as he saw a smile on Sarah's face.

"That's a good story. Now it's my turn. I assume Luke never told you about how he asked me out?" Sarah asked. Nick shook his head. "You're going to enjoy this then. You remember seeing bandages on Luke's tail?"…

* * *

Sarah awoke in Luke's bed the next morning. She had called her dad the previous night to inform him that she would be spending the night at Nick and Judy's house. She walked quietly out of the room to see Nick sitting at the table reading the newspaper while Judy sat across from him, drinking a cup of coffee.

"Hey Sarah. Did you sleep okay?" Judy asked.

"Yeah. I was really comfortable." Sarah paused to look at the time. "Guys! We're late for work!" She exclaimed.

"It's okay Sarah. I asked Bogo to give us all the day off today. I explained the situation to him." Nick replied as he took a sip coffee. It was morning and there was still no sign of Luke. They all knew it was time to search.

"We were going to head out right after breakfast. Can we make you anything to eat Sarah? Judy asked.

"Oh no. Please, I'll make something for you guys for letting me stay here last night. Do eggs sound okay?" Sarah asked.

Before Nick and Judy could protest, Sarah was already up getting a carton of eggs from the kitchen and cracking a few into a bowl. After a little time spent in the kitchen, Sarah came back with three professional-looking omelets.

"Wow, this is incredible Sarah! Where'd you learn to cook like this?" Nick asked as he stuffed his face full of food.

"I actually taught myself." Sarah answered modestly. "I really love to cook and to mess around in the kitchen."

"You may call it 'messing around' but I call it fine culinary work. Great job Sarah!" Judy complimented as she quickly finished off her omelet.

After eating breakfast, the three began the search for Luke. The three of them grouped together at the Sahara Square to talk about their course of action.

"Alright. We'll each split up. I'll search the places that have significance for Luke and I. Carrots, you search places that are shared between you and Luke. Sarah, you do the same. Think of places you went on dates or had fun together. Any place that you share with Luke you go to. Keep your phones on at all times in case one of us finds something. We'll meet back here unless one of you gives a reason not to. Best of luck." Nick said as the three darted off in separate directions. They had no time to waste.

* * *

The day quickly sped by as the fox, rabbit, and wolf reunited underneath the setting sun at Sahara Square. The fatigued look on each of their faces perfectly encapsulated their search for Luke but Nick still had to ask.

"How'd it go for you guys? I checked Duke's movie stand, the alley where I found Luke that one night, and the diner where we went to after. No such luck." He finished with a sigh.

"I looked at ZFC, the lab, the street where Luke was run over, and the hilltop where we went on our date yesterday. Nothing." Sarah concluded disappointedly.

"I went to the Snarlbucks that we met at for the first time and explored all over the park where Luke went after his sparring match. No sign of him." Judy finished as the group now simply stared at each other, not knowing where to go next.

"He's really gone, isn't he? We checked every logical place and there was no sign of him. Should we just give up now?" Nick's voice was shaking with frustration. An expression of defeat was cast upon the fox's face.

"Nick." Judy said softly.

"I mean I guess I thought he would tell us before he just ran off. But I should have known not to expect so much."

"Nick!" Judy spoke up a little louder. She was staring at her phone.

"I'm not sure if we can do this again. This search just confirmed what we already feared- Luke wants nothing to do with us."

"NICK!" Judy shouted, causing Nick's head to snap toward her direction. Judy held up her phone.

"I have a message! I have a message from Luke!" Judy exclaimed as Sarah and Nick crowded around the small screen of the phone. Judy opened up the email sent by a strange address and clicked on the video that was attached.

"Play it!" Nick said eagerly.

"I'm working on it!" Judy replied as she turned up the volume on her phone and clicked the play button on the video.

The face of Luke popped up on the screen and their hearts immediately sank at his appearance. Luke had dark circles under bloodshot eyes. His fur was ragged and un-groomed. As Luke began to speak, they shuddered at is hoarse voice. Luke spoke five sentences before the video ended.

" _After a number of weeks of me staying you must hear my words._

 _I don't need any of your help._

 _I think you guys are quite bad._

 _You are like a very annoying gerbil._

 _For you my bell does not ding."_


	21. Chapter 21: Homeward Bound

*****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 21: Homeward Bound

The fox, rabbit, and wolf stood in silence under the descending sun in Sahara square. None of them quite knew how to react to what Luke had just said in the video. Even more off-putting was his appearance. His eyes were red and tired. Judy could've sworn she saw flecks of blood in Luke's fur but it easily could've been the poor lighting messing with her mind. Finally, Nick broke the silence.

"So he _does_ hate us. I was right." Nick's voice was flat. Sarah's blue eyes were focused off in the distance while Judy just shook her head slowly.

"It- it just makes no sense." Judy stated. Luke's words continued to ring through her head.

" _After a number of weeks of me staying you must hear my words._

 _I don't need any of your help._

 _I think you guys are quite bad._

 _You are like a very annoying gerbil._

 _For you my bell does not ding."_

"It makes perfect sense Carrots." Nick faced the rabbit. "He got the last laugh. He specifically sent us a video to tell us what he thinks of us. How doesn't it make sense?"

"Let me replay the video. Please listen to what Luke is saying." Judy said as she replayed the video. The three of them closely listened to Luke's words.

"Are you sure that's Luke? Because the wolf that's talking sounds nothing like him." Sarah responded after the video concluded once more.

"You see what I mean? It just doesn't make sense at all! He sounds nothing like himself!" Judy answered Sarah while Nick simply shook his head.

"Maybe because we never knew his _true_ self." Nick replied sourly.

"No." Sarah shook her head. "This isn't Luke's true self. On our date the other night he talked about you two. He told me how happy he was with you two. And then Luke just left you without saying goodbye? That's not him. That's not the Luke I know."

"With all due respect Sarah, I'm not sure if you're exactly the one to talk about 'knowing' Luke right now. You _just_ found out the truth about his past." Nick interjected.

"Nick! What's the matter with you?!" Judy shot a stern look at the fox.

"No, it's fine." Sarah replied. "You're right Nick. Maybe I don't know Luke quite the way you do. But I'd like to think I know him pretty damn well. Can you please just hear me out? This isn't normal of Luke." Sarah looked urgently into the fox's verdant eyes.

"Fine, let's get back to the ZPD and see what we can do." Nick finished as the three hurried to the car just as the sun dipped below the horizon. Judy started up the car and the three of them sped off into the night.

"He's got to be out there somewhere." Judy said as they raced towards the city center.

* * *

"Try searching the email address."

"Nothing's coming up." Nick clenched his auburn fur in his paws as he glared at the computer screen. Judy sat next to the fox while Sarah sat in corner with Judy's phone, watching the video of Luke over and over again. They had been sitting there for a few hours now, trying to puzzle the situation together.

"Maybe the location is encrypted. The technology department has tried everything and they can't even get in. They're just stumped as we are." Judy commented as Nick slammed his paws down on the keyboard.

"Encrypted? Are you sure? I mean, Luke is smart but he's not tech savvy to the point where he knows how to hide something from the authorities, especially something as traceable as location." Sarah added as she paused the video, taking a look at the ragged wolf pictured on the screen.

"We don't know that Sarah. You saw how Luke hid the story about his past from you. He could be hiding other stuff too. He didn't tell us about his human-past either until we forced it out of him. But we can't influence him to tell us the truth now so who knows what is going on with him." Judy replied while Sarah played the video again.

"I know. But I'd like to think that the Luke we know is right here. But every viewing of this video just discourages me even more. I miss him." Sarah looked longingly down at Luke. She had muted the video now and was simply staring at Luke. His appearance didn't seem to bother Sarah, who just kept clicking the replay button.

"I know Sarah, me too. I miss everything about him. He's such a positive kid that it's so strange to see him like this." Judy walked over to Sarah and unmuted the video. She listened to his hoarse voice and shook her head sadly.

"I miss him too." Nick said as he spun his chair away from the computer to face Judy and Sarah. "I'd never thought I'd want to hear a pun so badly before but right now, to hear Luke say one, it would mean the world."

Judy nodded sullenly before replying; "Yeah, Luke loves puns."

"At least we gave him the satisfaction of a laugh, no matter how poorly phrased they were." Sarah trailed off as she looked down at the video screen. Her eyes shot open which quickly caught the attention of Nick and Judy. "Wait, Luke loves puns!"

"Yeah? What's your point?" Nick asked curiously as Sarah handed him the phone.

"These sentences- we all agreed that there's something off about them, right? Well what if that's intentional? He never said directly that he hates us! Watch the video!" Sarah's voice was full of energy as the three of them played the clip once more.

"Wait, are you saying that Luke's message is a pun?" Nick asked as the video concluded.

"Not _a_ pun. I think it's multiple puns! Or at least he's trying to use clever word placement to communicate with us!" Sarah was on the edge of her seat, her blue eyes were bright with excitement as Nick and Judy shared a glance.

"Alright Sarah, we'll see where this gets us. We haven't gotten anywhere yet so this right now is a good shot. No harm in seeing what we can do. How do you want to start?" Judy asked. Sarah replied immediately as soon as Judy finished speaking, she could barely contain herself.

"We'll break it down sentence by sentence. Let's start with the first and then work our way onward as we puzzle it together. And if it doesn't get us anywhere then it doesn't but we still have to try." Sarah finished to see an approving look from Nick.

"Alright Sarah, we're all yours." He replied as Sarah played the first sentence that Luke spoke.

" _After a number of weeks of me staying you must hear my words."_

She stopped the video to see what Nick and Judy were thinking.

"I agree. It's oddly phrased. You agree Nick?" Judy asked to see a nod from the fox. He was deep in thought.

"Alright, how many weeks has he been here? I mean, since you two have known him?" Sarah questioned.

"Seven, if I'm not mistaken." Judy answered.

"Alright, so if we rephrase the sentence with that information it would be 'After seven weeks of me staying you must hear my words.'" Sarah replied while shaking her head.

"That makes no sense though. We always told him to tell us what's on his mind so it makes no sense that he would 'demand' to hear his words. We've always listened to what he has to say." Judy added. She too, was perplexed.

"Maybe that's because it's not the way he intended it to be phrased." Nick said, breaking his silence.

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked with a puzzled look.

"I mean, why didn't Luke just come out and say 'seven weeks'? Is it possible that he was just referring to the number?" Nick asked. Judy nodded in response.

"That's true. Alright so if we rephrase it…" Judy trailed off.

"It would be: 'After seven you must hear my words'." Sarah said uncertainly. "Is he talking about the time or something? Because that doesn't really get us too far either."

"Maybe it's just the number seven?" Judy suggested.

"Yeah, but seven 'what's'?" Nick asked slightly agitated. It had been a long day and every single one of them wanted to just go home. But he knew they couldn't, not when Luke was out there somewhere.

"Could it be seven words?" Sarah suggested after a few moments of silence.

"'After seven words you must hear my words?' That still doesn't make much sense." Judy said with a shake of her head.

"Maybe because it's not supposed to. Maybe we need the other sentences! Think about it!" Nick's voice had now suddenly filled with energy. "'After seven words you must hear my words.' Perhaps we should try listening to the seventh word of each of his next four sentences."

Sarah played the video once more, saying the seventh word of each sentence as the video went along.

"Help, bad, gerbil, ding? What does that mean?" Sarah asked with a puzzled expression. Nick and Judy simply shrugged in response.

"Help, bad, gerbil, ding." Judy stated.

"Help bad gerbil ding."

"Help bad ger-bil ding."

"Help badger building."

Judy and Nick looked sharply at one another, their eyes widened with fear as the reality sunk in. Judy's paws shot up to her mouth while Nick's emerald eyes flashed with worry. Sarah immediately noticed their scared looks.

"What? What is it?!" Sarah asked alarmed.

"We know where Luke is." Nick said softly. Him and Judy were stunned into silence.

"Where?!"

"Do you have that tooth I gave to you?" Nick asked a wide-eyed Sarah. Sarah hurriedly took the chunk of tooth out of the back pocket where she had placed it yesterday. "Alright Sarah, it's time for you to know where this came from."

* * *

"Wait, you got this chunk of tooth from Dr. Meles? The guy who likely has imprisoned Luke?" Sarah's eyes were full of terror.

"Yes! What is it Sarah? Carrots and I have to act fast." Nick replied with urgency.

"We have to get Luke out of there now! Not only does Dr. Meles have Luke imprisoned but Luke and I think he's planning some sort of attack upon Zootopia with a bioweapon!" Sarah's exclamation caused Nick and Judy's eyes to shoot open.

"What?! How do you know?!" Judy asked shocked.

"That lab we went to a while ago in the Rainforest District? It wasn't a drug lab. The so-called 'drugs' turned out to be live virus! When we looked up its characteristics there were no matches of the virus on record. It's completely new and we tested infectivity and it is very infective. Then when you told me to see if the tooth was part of a bear I did a little more looking into it and the tooth had traces of the virus!" Sarah spoke very quickly while Nick and Judy immediately realized the severity of the situation.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!" Judy questioned.

"Actually, that's why I came to your house last night. Luke and I were going to tell you what we found out about the virus but then after our fight my mind was just so full of other things." Sarah replied.

Nick and Judy nodded understandingly. "It's fine. Alright, Nick and I are going to go get Luke. Sarah, if we're gone for more than four hours then let Bogo know what happened." Judy informed the wolf, who had a frown upon her face the moment she heard Judy's words.

"No! I'm coming with you guys!" Sarah protested. "I can help! I need to let Luke know that I'm there for him."

"Sarah, please, this mammal is dangerous. We can't risk it." Nick answered.

"I can hold my own! I had to pass that sparring assessment just like Luke! Also, you're dealing with a man wielding a bioweapon. You should have someone from the lab down there." Sarah stood her ground.

Nick paused before replying. "Fine. We'll give you a tranquilizer gun to be used as a last resort. But listen to me right now." Nick's voice grew deadly serious. "We don't know what we are dealing with. Should things go wrong in there, I need you to be prepared. If, somehow, it comes down to you and Luke, I need you to promise me that you choose to save yourself. This is not the time to try and be a hero and your blood cannot be on my hands. There are no second chances. By going, you must promise me that you will be prepared for Luke to die in order for you to survive should Judy and I not be capable of helping. Knowing this, do you still want to go?"

"Yes, I'm sure and I promise." Sarah responded bluntly.

"Alright, we have no time to waste." Nick said as the three of them hopped up from their chairs and sprinted out through the door.

* * *

"Alright, are you guys ready?" Judy whispered as they stood in front of the large iron door of the grey building. Nick and Sarah responded with nods, tranquilizer guns at the ready. Judy rapped her knuckles upon the cold, metal surface and backed off to the side of the entryway.

"Who's there?" A deep voice called out. The three of them stayed absolutely silent.

As the polar bear opened the door, Nick was quick to fire a dart in the polar bear's neck. His eyes widened after realizing what happened but it was too late. The large, white figure of the polar bear slouched over and landed on the ground with a large thud. Nick, Judy, and Sarah hopped over the unconscious guard and quickly made their way to the staircase that led to the lab.

The three of them ran quietly down the stairs and peered around the corner to get a look at the entrance.

"He's likely to be just behind that door." Nick whispered.

"Alright, coast is clear. Let's go." Judy replied quietly as they ran over to the lab's entrance and tried to open the door.

"It's locked!" Nick said after giving the door a might pull.

"Maybe that bear up there had the keys. Why don't we go and-" Sarah turned around but was interrupted as the knife slashed across her face. She yelped in pain and clutched the side of her face, which began to bleed profusely.

The two large polar bears quickly advanced on Nick and Judy. However Judy was fast. She whipped out her tranquilizer gun and lodged a dart in the neck of one of the bears. He quickly collapsed upon the ground but before either Nick or Judy could shoot again the other bear knocked the guns out of their paws, sending them sliding across the floor. Nick clenched his fist, bracing for a fight as the bear came charging toward him.

Judy darted toward the bear with terrific speed. She launched herself at the bear's torso and made contact with the side of his ribs. The bear stumbled back but still remained upright as he now turned his attention to the rabbit. Her eyes widened as the bear drew the knife, stained red from Sarah's blood.

"I always hated prey like you." The polar bear smiled cruelly as he wound up his arm to throw the knife.

*Thwack*

The knife clattered on the floor as the bear reached his white paw up to find a dart sticking out of his neck. He looked frantically around to see the guns of Nick and Judy still scattered in the corner. He froze when he saw Sarah's piercing blue eyes staring at him from behind a gun. Despite her half-bloodied face, she had a smirk as the bear's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed upon the ground in a large heap.

"Sarah, you saved my life!" Judy exclaimed as she picked up her gun.

"So much for not being a hero." Nick replied, causing a light chuckle from Sarah and Judy.

"Hey, these bears must have been positioned outside the door. One of them had a keychain." Nick said as he slipped the keys off the loop of the polar bear's belt and began to try each one in the door of the lab. After a few unsuccessful tries, he heard a satisfying click but froze before opening the door.

"Guns out and prepare yourselves." Nick instructed as Judy and Sarah followed his lead. He swung the door open, allowing them to be immersed in the harsh light of the lab. Their eyes rested upon the figure in the chair and their jaws dropped. No amount of preparation could've allowed them to cope smoothly with what they saw.

Luke's head was slumped over. His fur on his upper body was caked in blood. His shoulders were swollen and looked like someone ran blades through them. His arms had several bad burn marks on them. The fur around them was blackened. They felt their guts wrench upon seeing Luke in such pain. They sprinted over to his side.

"Luke! Luke! It's Nick and Judy! We're here son." Nick looked up into Luke's brown eyes.

"Mom, Dad, Sarah? You guys came for me?" Luke croaked out. His eyes began to tear up as he let out a weak smile.

"We sure did Luke. Sarah led us right to you after realizing your message was a series of puns." Judy smiled at the grey wolf.

"Can we go home?" Luke asked.

"Sure thing bud." Nick grinned as he quickly loosened the restraints. Sarah, who had stayed silent, ran over to Nick to help Luke up out of the chair.

"Alright, let's get out of here." Judy said as the three began to make their way toward the exit only to hear a familiar voice make them stop right in their tracks.

"Oh that's precious, Luke brought the whole happy family!" The badger grinned deviously as the four of them turned around only to hear the door slam shut.

"Shut it Meles." Sarah spat at the badger.

"Oh wow! She really does have a sharp tongue on her. I can see why Luke left you." He sneered as Sarah drew her gun out and directed it at Dr. Meles.

"Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you right now." Sarah's voice was razor thin.

"Do it." Dr. Meles smirked as Sarah pulled the trigger. The badger winced in pain as the dart lodged into his arm. He yanked it out and then stared at his watch for a few seconds before bursting into laughter. "I've acquired resistance to the serum. I'm not just going to be knocked out by your little toys."

"Why are you doing this Meles? I know that it's you that is responsible for the production of a bioweapon." Nick asked angrily.

"And how do you know that?" Meles sneered. Sarah promptly pulled out the fragment of tooth from her pocket. The badger's eyes immediately settled upon it. "Clever, very clever. Too bad it won't do you too much good in the end though." Dr. Meles chuckled as he walked over to the table and pulled out a small box of syringes, filled with a yellow-tinted serum.

"Sarah, that's it. That's the disease." Luke croaked.

"One little prick. That's all it takes for your life to be over. As the virus spread, it gets to your head. You start acting crazy and before you know it, this little foxy is tearing the throat out of his precious bunny." The badger smirked. "Then that poor little abomination of a marriage is over between you two."

Nick gritted his teeth and snarled at the badger, who now began to strut over to the group. His beady eyes settled on Sarah. "So, you want to be first in line?" Dr. Meles walked over to Sarah and cornered her against the wall. He took out a syringe and held it up. "One little prick by the needle."

"I'm not scared of you." Sarah's piercing blue eyes focused-in on the badger's face.

"You sure you want to say that to the mammal that holds your life in his paws?" The badger asked dangerously.

"You're right. I don't want to say that. I also want to say that you're a pain in the ass."

*Thwack*

Nick and Judy fired their darts right into Dr. Meles' rear end. The wince of pain that followed was all Sarah needed. She immediately sent her knee into the ribcage of the badger, causing him to clutch his chest in agony. Judy quickly rushed over to grab the syringes. With all her might, she hurled them in the corner of the lab, causing them to break upon the wall. Meles stumbled over to the metal frame of the portal and took the pendant out of his pocket. He slipped it into a small socket into the frame and flipped a switch, causing the portal to illuminate in a bright, blue light.

"You're finished Meles. Don't even bother trying to flee. You'll never get a chance to come back anyway." Sarah called out, catching the attention of the badger. "It's the end of the line for you. It's been like that for a while" Sarah stared into the beady eyes of the badger, not noticing the puzzled expressions of Nick, Judy, and Luke. "You see, that tooth had traces of rabies on it and when Arctos managed to bite you, it spread Meles. It spread to you."

"Don't make me laugh child." Dr. Meles sneered. "As you can clearly see, I'm not showing any symptoms. It never spread."

"Maybe not now." Luke's hoarse voice caused everyone's head to turn. "But you were bitten about seven weeks ago. And you seem to have forgotten about the incubation period of the rabies virus, which is eight to twelve weeks. You're a ticking time-bomb my friend." Luke's smirk caused the badger to be petrified. He was rooted to the spot in fear, now realizing the wolf was right. "If you want to flee, then do it."

"Luke." The badger spoke softly. His terrified expression had now changed to one of a much softer nature. "Are you sure you just want me to go? If I do, you say goodbye to your parents, your sister, and your friends back on Earth. They'll be gone forever. When I go through that portal, it's all gone. Unless, of course, you decide to come with me."

Luke paused. Sarah watched as his brown eyes lit up upon hearing Dr. Meles' enticing words.

"Luke, don't listen to him!" Judy called out but Luke completely ignored her.

"You can take me home? To- to my family?" Luke stammered.

"I can, all I need is for you to come." The badger responded. Luke paused for a moment but then slowly nodded, his brown eyes gazed upon the badger as he stood by the portal. Luke pried the supporting arms of Nick and Judy off of him and hobbled over to the smiling badger.

"Luke no!" Nick called after him.

"Please don't do this Luke! I- I love you!" Sarah shouted as Luke turned back to face them.

"I'm going home." Luke stated bluntly as he walked over to Dr. Meles. His fur captured the blue light from the portal.

"You ready to see your family Luke?" The badger asked warmly.

"Let's make this quick Meles. I want to get home, and my family is waiting for me."

Luke acted in an instant. He left the badger rooted to the spot as he leapt up into the air and swung his leg around. He felt the satisfying contact of his heel with the side of the badger's head. As Luke landed firmly on his feet, he watched Dr. Meles stumble back toward the blue light of the portal. Luke planted his foot on the ribs of the badger and thrust him forward. He watched the terrified look of the badger's eyes as he was cast back into the portal. Without hesitation, Luke reached over to the crystal pendant and clutched it in his paw. He closed his eyes and cast the pendant down by his feet. The world seemed to stop as he heard the crystal shatter into a thousand pieces. As Luke opened his eyes, all he could see was the bright blue light of the portal. He gazed down at the shards of the pendant, knowing there was now no going back. In an instant, he felt the ground rumble beneath him as the light grew brighter and brighter.

Luke felt his body thrown into the wall as the portal frame collapsed into a fiery heap. His brown eyes focused on the wavering flames as his vision faded to black.


	22. Chapter 22: Et tu, Brute?

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I just wanted to announce that this story (My first story) has now reached 10,000+ views! I know that so many people really only focus on follows and favorites but I'm still so happy that such a great number of people are here enjoying my story! I'm just a high schooler who decided one day to try my hand at writing. I've never written a fiction piece of such length before so to see such a great reception makes me smile. I just wanted to thank you all for the fantastic support and enjoy the last couple chapters of this story! Leave some feedback to let me know what you think!**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 22: Et tu, Brute?

Luke slowly opened his eyes to encounter the familiar intrusion of harsh light completely overwhelming him. He promptly shut his eyes, denying the flood of light from causing any further pain. He blindly felt his surrounding, noticing that his arms were not bound like they were earlier. As his paws ran up against a pillow that rested underneath Luke's supine figure, he began to slowly inch his eyes open. His brown eyes slowly got accustomed to the bright room as he stared up at the tiled ceiling of his hospital. Luke attempted to prop himself up but stopped upon feeling resistance in his arm. He looked down to see an IV protruding from his inner elbow. Luke put a couple claws on the head of the IV and was about to remove it when he was stopped by a familiar voice.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Luke turned to see a large elephant stroll into his room and stand at the foot of his bed.

"Doctor Trunkson?" Luke croaked out. His voice was still pretty hoarse.

"Yes, hello Luke. You seem to be recovering well." The elephant responded in a much warmer tone than when Luke had visited after getting hit by the car.

"Where are Nick and Judy?" Luke asked after seeing the empty seats in the room.

"They'll be here soon. You seem to be well enough to take visitors so they'll be thrilled about that." Dr. Trunkson replied.

"How bad are my injuries?" Luke asked. His eyes met the chart that Dr. Trunkson was carrying.

"They certainly could be a lot worse. You're pretty bruised up and have a few burns on your arms but those should disappear in due time. You also had some lacerations on your shoulders but those are bandaged up now. The swelling in the area should go down within the next couple days." Dr. Trunkson informed the wolf, who nodded in reply. "How is your pain right now?"

"Not horrible. My shoulders feel pretty stiff but I'll manage. Is that all that's wrong with me? Can I go home?" Luke asked. His brown eyes gazed up at the elephant, who seemed to want to avoid his glance.

"We'll talk more when your mom and dad arrive. In the meantime, you have a visitor if you're well enough. I can also send him away if you're not up for it." Dr. Trunkson replied.

"No, no. I can handle it. Send him in." Luke answered. Dr. Trunkson went out into the hall and motioned for the visitor to come. Luke sat back and looked up at the cape buffalo. "Chief Bogo?"

"Hello Luke. How are you feeling?" Bogo asked lightly.

"I'm- I'm good." Luke said, not wanting to talk about his pain.

"That's good to hear, I'm glad you're okay Luke." The buffalo answered. The gruffness of his voice was much softer than Luke was used to.

"Thanks Chief. If you don't mind me asking, why are you visiting me?" Luke asked as Bogo took a seat next to the head of Luke's bed. Bogo stayed silent before he answered the wolf.

"Luke, I know how difficult this must've been for you." The chief of police said with warm sincerity in his eyes. "No one can even fathom what it was like to go through this." Luke simply stayed silent. His eyes were focused on the buffalo. "We know you're just recovering and everyone at the ZPD wishes you the best."

"Thank you Chief." Luke smiled weakly.

"We know it's a lot to ask of you right now Luke. But if we could have a statement from you-"

Luke's smile was immediately wiped off his face and replaced with nothing but a straight line of resignation. The wolf slowly shook his head side to side.

"Luke, we need to know what happened. It's the only way we at the ZPD can-"

"No." Luke interrupted Bogo. "I'm sorry Chief but I can't. Not now at least."

"Luke, it's best just to talk about these things right now. If we wait, it may only make matters worse." Bogo urged.

"Chief, I said no." Luke replied levelly.

The buffalo was taken aback by Luke's bluntness but nodded understandingly. "Alright Luke, best of luck with your recovery. Hope to see you back at the precinct soon"

Luke stayed absolutely silent as Bogo got up from his chair and exited his room. Luke threw his head back into the pillow, covered his eyes with his paws, and let out sigh as Dr. Trunkson came back into the room.

"I know that after what the chief said you may not want to talk to anyone now, but your parents are here to see you. I can send them away if you don't-"

"No, please." Luke sat back up. "Send them in."

"Very well." Dr. Trunkson replied and walked out of the room. After a short while, he came back with the fox and rabbit. They simply stood in silence at the entryway to Luke's room. All three pairs of eyes were wide with disbelief. "I'll leave you guys to it then." Dr. Trunkson said awkwardly as he left the room once more.

Nick, Judy, and Luke stayed in silence for a few more moments before the delicate state of the room was shattered.

"Luke!" Judy smiled while she and Nick sprinted over to his bed as pulled him in a tight embrace. All three of them had warm grins upon their faces.

"I'm so glad to see you guys." Luke said warmly as the three of them separated. He looked up at both of their bright faces. "I'm serious. I'm very glad that you guys are here."

"Same here son." Nick said warmly. His emerald eyes were bright as he looked at Luke. "So how's your pain?"

"Could be worse. My shoulders are killing me though." Luke replied as he gestured toward his bandaged shoulders. "Overall, Dr. Trunkson said my injuries aren't too serious."

"That's a relief." Judy said while sitting at the foot of the bed.

"Yeah, he says I'll make a speedy recovery so that means no icky hospital food! Speaking of which, do you think you guys can go talk to Dr. Trunkson to see if it's okay that I get checked out of the hospital today? I mean, nothing serious is wrong with me." Luke spoke. Nick and Judy's warm looks were immediately wiped off their face. The two of them quickly shared a glance, guilt etched upon their face.

"Mom, Dad? Is something wrong? Did I say something?" Luke asked innocently.

"Luke" Judy spoke softly. "You can't come home with us tonight."

"Why not?" Luke had a puzzled expression on his face. Nick and Judy sat in silence for a few seconds before Nick opened his mouth to explain.

"Son, when you…ran away, it was a sudden, unpredictable act. Just like when you jumped in front of the car to save Sarah. You were captured and that experience must have been very tough on you. On top of that, you just severed the only connection you had back to Earth." Nick's voice was very delicate, as if his words could break Luke at any moment.

"Wow guys, you certainly pile it on." Luke gave a weak smile that promptly faded away upon seeing the solemn expressions of Nick and Judy.

"Luke, that's a lot to go through in 24 hours. We're just worried about how you'll cope." Judy continued.

"Guys, I'll be fine. Trust me." Luke smiled lightly, attempting to reassure the fox and rabbit.

"We hope so too Luke but we just can't risk it." Nick shook his head slowly. He didn't want to look into Luke's hopeful brown eyes.

"What- what are you guys saying?" Luke stammered. Both Nick and Judy stayed silent before Nick finally opened his mouth to speak.

"Son, we're sending you to the psychiatric ward of the hospital. Just for observation for one night." Nick informed Luke. Nick felt as though someone had punched him in the chest as he stared into Luke's hurt eyes.

"You- you think I'm crazy?" Luke's voice shook as his eyes began to well with tears.

"No, no sweetie! We don't think you're crazy!" Judy put her paw on Luke's but he immediately retracted it.

"Then why are you doing this?" Luke's voice was full of pain as the deluge of tears arrived. "I wanted to turn around and come home but Meles took me! I tried to fight but he tranquilized me! I'm not depressed or suicidal and I'm not going to run from you guys! Please don't do this!"

"Luke, we're sorry! It's just for one night." Judy tried to explain over Luke's sobs.

"I want to go home!" Luke wailed. "Please don't lock me up. Let me go home!"

"We'll be there first thing in the morning Luke." Nick tried to explain but just couldn't over the tempest of Luke's emotions.

"You guys rescued me just so I could get imprisoned again! You stabbed me in the back! You betrayed me!" Luke couldn't stand to look Nick and Judy in the eyes.

"Luke, please. It's just for your protection. It's going to be okay!" Judy pleaded but froze upon seeing Luke's cold expression.

"Please, just go." Luke's eyes were full of tears.

"Luke." Nick said weakly.

"I SAID GO!" Luke shouted at Nick and Judy. The two simply nodded morosely as they got up from Luke's bed and left his room. Luke threw his pillow on top of his face to muffle the sound of his sobs. Tears soaked his pillowcase as he cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Luke sat on his bed in the otherwise empty cell of the psychiatric ward. The little sunlight that managed to pass through the window Luke felt ever so distant from as thick, metal bars blocked him from the sparse rays of natural light. As Luke threw his head down on the bed, he heard voices on the other side of his cell door.

"Are you sure he's stable enough?"

"With all the kid has been through? I doubt it but he's doing better than I expected. I thought he'd be a total train-wreck."

"Should we just say 'Sorry, you can't visit him'?"

"Are you kidding? She was so aggressive when she demanded to see him I don't want to see what happens if we say 'no' to her."

"Alright. We're going to keep close watch over them then. If anything goes awry then we have our tranquilizers for a reason."

"Sounds like a plan."

Luke heard footsteps approach his cell door and he quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep as to not show that he was eavesdropping. He heard the metal slat in the door open.

"Mr. Barrett? You have a visitor." The voice called out.

Luke slowly opened his eyes and walked over to his cell door. The door swung open, where Luke was met by a lion and a hippo.

"You ready Mr. Barrett?" The lion asked. Luke nodded as the three of them walked toward the visitor's area of the ward. Luke sat down at a metal table where he was met by a familiar pair of azure eyes.

"Hello Luke." Sarah looked at the grey-furred wolf.

"Hello." Luke replied with a cold tone.

"You're looking well Luke. I'm glad that I could visit you. Sorry that you have to be…here." Sarah said warmly. She, however, noticed no change in Luke's demeanor.

"Don't patronize me Sarah." Luke replied.

"I'm not Luke. I am genuinely sorry and I wish there was something I could do for you." Sarah kept her sympathetic tone.

"There isn't, Sarah." Luke answered levelly.

"Alright." Sarah responded. "Do you want me to stay or leave you alone? I know you've had a rough few days but-"

"A rough few days?" Luke scoffed. "Let's do a little recap Sarah. I finally tell you the truth about my past. I show you my skeletons and what happens? You wish me dead. Then I go and try and get away, knowing that I mean so little to you and then guess what? I'm tortured and almost die! I'm finally rescued and think I can just go home and spend some time with my family but then they stab me in the back and tell me that I'm going to get locked up in some sort of psych ward because of my multiple 'crazy' actions. One of which, by the way, is me getting hit by a speeding car to save your life! So yes Sarah, I have had a few rough days but you really don't _know."_

Sarah simply stared back Luke's brown eyes, which were full of contempt. She expected nothing less of Luke. After what she had said to him, she knew the road to forgiveness would be one full of obstacles.

"You have every right to be angry at me Luke. I hate myself for what I said to you. I know you won't forgive me anytime soon. Maybe you'll never forgive me and that's okay. If you truly hate me then I won't hold it against you. I was the selfish one and there's no justifying what I said to you. I didn't help rescue you to have a chance at forgiveness. I rescued you because I love you. I love you Luke, no matter your past." Sarah saw the hatred disappear from Luke's eyes. The grey-furred wolf stayed absolutely silent but his brown eyes didn't drift off of Sarah's.

"I can't forgive you Sarah, at least not now." Luke looked deep into Sarah's piercing-blue eyes.

Sarah gave a faint smile as she got up from her chair. "I'll wait for you Luke." Without another word, Sarah turned away and exited the visiting area, leaving Luke alone at the table. His eyes held on to every bit of Sarah as she slipped around the corner and disappeared out of sight.


	23. Chapter 23: My End

**Author's note: Hey guys! Thanks for all the great messages last chapter. When I was writing that chapter I was wondering if it was too short but ultimately I just submitted it as is because I felt that where the chapter was in terms of content was good and that simply adding words for the sake of words wouldn't benefit it. As always, enjoy the next chapter and please leave a review!** **(THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER OF THE STORY. DO NOT BE FOOLED BY THE TITLE).**

 *****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 23: My End

Luke awoke to the rapping of knuckles against his cell door. Luke slowly propped himself up against the firm mattress and faced the threshold.

"I'm up." Luke called out groggily. He'd been awake for most of the night and had now just managed to drift off. Then, right on queue, any chance of sleep had been obliterated by this sudden appearance at the door. The metal entryway swung open to reveal the lion that had taken Luke to see Sarah the previous day.

"Mr. Barrett, you've been cleared to leave. Your psych evaluation appears to be normal and your parents are waiting to take you home. You ready to go?" The lion asked. Luke simply nodded in response. He didn't feel much like talking. "Luke, if I may suggest something, you've been through a lot. Even though your psych evaluation came back normal you've been through a lot of trauma. It may be wise to see a therapist."

"Did I ask for your opinion? I'm not crazy. I don't need to see a therapist." Luke spat back with a razor-sharp tone.

"I'm just looking out for your well-being Mr. Barrett." The lion replied calmly.

"Yeah, looking out for my 'well-being'. That's exactly what got me here." Luke's agitated tone did nothing to faze the lion.

"I'm not looking to pick a fight Mr. Barrett. I'm just looking to help." The lion answered coolly.

"If you really want to help then you can get me out of here." Luke said as he got up from the stiff mattress.

"Very well then. Let's go." The lion replied curtly. The two of them strolled out of the cell and walked towards the lobby without exchanging another word.

Luke entered the visitor's area to see Nick and Judy standing together, eagerly waiting for the wolf, their son. Upon seeing Luke, the two of them rushed over and wrapped Luke up in a tight embrace. Luke, however, stood rooted to the spot without moving an inch. His arms stayed like rigid boards down by his sides.

"Oh Luke! We're so glad you're coming home!" Judy exclaimed eagerly as she pulled Luke in even tighter. Luke, however, showed no emotion at the joyous reaction of his parents. "I'm sure you don't want to spend another second here so we'll talk in the car."

"That reminds me." Nick added as he unclasped Luke. "We have a surprise waiting for you."

Luke didn't even acknowledge the two as he simply walked out the door, leaving the fox and the rabbit behind him. Luke strolled casually into the car and shut the door behind him. Luke knew Nick and Judy were very close on his trail when he heard the doors of the car open up just as he took his seat. The three of them sat for a few moments before Nick turned back with a large, paper bag.

"We knew you'd be sick of hospital food so we got you your favorite! ZFC!" Nick said with a big grin. "I know it's breakfast time but we figured that any time is a good time to have your favorite!"

Luke's gaze never met with Nick's sparkling emerald eyes. Instead, Luke kept his focus on the world outside the car. As Judy drove them out of the hospital's parking lot, Luke focused on whatever passed; trees, buildings, mammals going about their everyday business. He didn't care, as long as it was anywhere but in that car.

After they arrived at their apartment, Luke immediately headed off to shower in order to clear his mind. He stroked the burn marks on his arm as he immersed himself in the warm water pouring from the showerhead. As Luke gently ran his claws through the blackened fur of the burns, he heard the lion's voice echo through his head.

" _It may be wise to see a therapist_ "

Luke gritted his teeth as he threw his head back into the steady stream of water. "I _don't_ need a therapist." Luke muttered as he angrily closed the faucet. He snatched a towel from the towel rack, dried himself off, got dressed, and trudged out to the dining room where, up until now, he had only been happy with Nick and Judy.

"Luke, we've got food all served up for you. We knew you'd be hungry so we gave you extra but feel free to eat as much as you want." Judy said as Luke took a seat behind the plate of food. He stared at the platter of fried crickets with the wide array of colorful sauces. Luke felt himself pause as he picked up his fork. He certainly didn't feel much like eating.

Luke watched as both Nick and Judy began to devour their meals. Luke, as not to attract too much attention to himself, simply moved the food around a bit on his plate to create space in order to make it seem like he had eaten some of his food.

"So Luke, we got permission from Bogo to take the day off tomorrow so I thought we could spend a day together as a family." Nick smiled at Luke but received nothing more than silence from the wolf.

"Luke, come on. We're trying to reach out here. We get that you're mad but we love you. Please don't just shut us out like this." Judy urged the wolf to no avail. Luke's eyes were distant and cold. It was as if Luke himself was gone and was replaced by a hollow shell that resembled Luke.

"Thanks for breakfast." Luke said flatly as he scooped his untouched food back into the container and slinked away to his room without another word.

* * *

 _Luke felt the restraints around his body tighten as he sat up in the chair. He thrashed wildly only to have each contortion of his body cause the restraints to grow even tighter. Exhausted, Luke threw himself against the head of the chair and stared directly into the black, beady, emotionless eyes of Dr. Meles._

" _Guards, make the wolf talk to me." The badger had a twisted smile on his face as the two large polar bears sunk their claws into Luke's shoulders. Luke could only writhe in pain as he felt his warm blood stream down his shoulders and begin to pool at his feet._

"GAH!"

Luke sat upright in his bed, attempting to steady his heaving chest. As Luke closed his eyes to regain some composure, he could do nothing to prevent the wave of emotion from overtaking him. He threw himself back down on the bed as the tears began to tumble down his grey-furred cheeks. He attempted to muffle the sounds of his sobs by stuffing his face into the pillow but Luke knew he had to recover as he heard Judy call out from outside his room.

"Luke? Are you alright in there?"

Luke quickly dried his tears off with his blanket just as the door to his room slowly opened up. Luke paid no attention to Nick and Judy who promptly walked over to Luke and sat themselves down next to him on the bed.

"Luke, we know you're angry at us but is everything okay?" Nick asked sympathetically as he tried to meet Luke's gaze.

"I'm fine. Just tired." Luke responded bluntly as Judy looked down at Luke's paw.

"Are you sure? You're shaking." Judy gestured to Luke's paw as his grey fur shook wildly. Luke hadn't even noticed that he'd been trembling so much but he knew it made sense after the nature of his nightmare.

"I'm fine." Luke replied despondently as he steadied his paws.

"Luke, you know you can tell us if something's the matter, right?" Nick asked Luke. The wolf didn't bother shifting his glance from his paw. Luke stayed in silence while Nick and Judy's eyes remained trained on his beaten figure.

"Luke, please just talk to us! We said we're sorry! We know that you're upset with us and you have every right to be but we were just looking out for you after a traumatic experience! Luke, it's all over now and we just want you back. We want our son back." Judy choked out as her eyes began to tear up.

"Carrots, let's just give Luke some space. Come on, let's go." Nick put his paw on Judy's shoulder as he guided her out of Luke's room. He looked back at the wolf for a brief moment as he stood at the entryway. Luke stayed slouched over at the side of his bed, his head remained drooped over his body. As Luke heard the light click of the door, he buried his face back into his paws and let his emotions run wild. Luke didn't bother to fight the stream of tears that came as he threw himself down on the bed and curled himself up, losing himself in the rhythmic movement of his sobs.

* * *

"Shhhh. Carrots it's going to be okay." Nick hugged the rabbit as he pressed his russet muzzle against her grey fur. Judy continued to cry heavily into the fox as they sat in their dim bedroom.

"No it's not Nick!" Judy wailed in anguish. "Luke hates us and he's never going to forgive us! We weren't there for him when he needed us most. We _left_ him Nick."

Nick looked down at the tear-soaked amethyst eyes of his wife and pulled the rabbit in close. As the two tightly embraced, Nick whispered into Judy's ear reassuringly. "Carrots, I know Luke is mad at us but we have remember that there was no way we could know what he would have done if he went home. We didn't make him stay there out of spite. We did it because he means so much to us and we couldn't bear to see him hurt himself. All we can do is to show Luke that we love him no matter what and that we're always here for him. He's going to be mad at us Carrots. All we can do is wait and let him know how much he means to us. He'll come to us when he's ready but that time is certainly not now."

Judy wiped away her tears with her paw and stared up into Nick's emerald irises. "Then why was he crying? Judy asked weakly.

Nick's expression immediately grew puzzled. "What are you talking about? He was just distant when we were with him. Luke wasn't crying."

"Nick, his eyes were bloodshot and the fur under his eyes was stained with tears. I'm pretty sure he was crying." Judy sniffed as she began to regain her composure.

"Then why is he ignoring us Carrots?" Nick asked worriedly.

"Maybe something else is going on. He's been through some serious trauma Nick, and I don't think Luke has told anyone the specifics of what happened those twenty-four hours, us included. He's dealing with this all by himself, or at least trying to. I honestly don't know if he's capable of dealing with this all by himself. I know he was crying and now that I think of it, he didn't seem all that put-together during our meal earlier. I thought it was just because he was mad at us but then after seeing his tear-marks now I'm not sure." Judy replied anxiously.

Nick paused before replying. "I didn't see him eat a bite during the meal this morning."

Judy nodded in painful understanding. "If he didn't eat a bite of his favorite meal then chances are he didn't eat anything at the hospital. What are we going to do Nick? Something's wrong."

"How about this" Nick responded. "We'll give him a day to settle-in and if nothing changes; he doesn't eat or talk, then we'll take him back to the hospital. He's clearly in distress."

"Nick! He'll never forgive us if we do that! If we think Luke is mad at us right now, it'll only be made worse if we bring him back to the hospital." Judy exclaimed worriedly.

"I know Carrots, but it's our only option. That's why we're giving him another day."

* * *

 _Luke sat facing the badger; a maniacal smile was etched upon his face. Luke felt the black, beady eyes focus on his bound figure. Luke bared his fangs at the badger and began to thrash around in his chair; though he knew each attempt to struggle was futile._

" _Perhaps we should show Luke where such a fiery temper ultimately gets someone."_

 _Luke saw the polar bears clasping the orange, glowing coals in the tongs. His eyes widened with fright and he began to thrash around wildly as the coals were brought closer and closer to him._

" _Please! Please no! I'll talk! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't do this!" Luke screamed as the coals were now less than a foot from his flesh._

" _Oh Luke, you should have thought of that before you disrespected me." Dr. Meles chided as the coals were firmly pressed onto his arms._

 _Luke howled in pain as he thrashed around in his chair. He heard the sizzling of his fur and flesh under the heat of the coals. Every sharp movement of his body only resulted for the glowing coals to be pressed deeper._

" _STOP! STOP! PLEASE!" Luke howled._

" _Not until you learn that what you did was wrong." Meles shook his head and wagged one of his fingers. "Boys, let's show Luke that such words will just burn you up from the inside."_

 _Luke sighed in relief as the coals removed but immediately returned to his panicked state as he felt a paw seize on his muzzle and pry his mouth open. As the hot rocks were neared towards his open mouth, Luke began to trash his head from side to side but a polar bear clamped his paw down on his neck, immobilizing him._

" _It's alright Luke, you'll learn to swallow your words." Meles smiled as he gave the polar bears an affirmative nod. Luke was helpless as the tongs were opened and the coals were poured into his mouth._

* * *

Luke jolted himself up in his bed, hyperventilating as a cold sweat ran down his back. Luke frantically moved his paws up to his mouth, feeling the familiar, unburned surface of his gums. Luke, then, turned his attention to the burn marks on his arms, which were unchanged from that night several days ago. Luke couldn't control himself. He buried his face in his paws and began to sob unrelentingly. A stream of tears came pouring steadily out of his eyes as he gasped for air. As Luke's ragged breathing continued, he heard his door swing open, causing him to seize up immediately.

Nick rushed into Luke's room as Luke tried to cease his weeping but to no avail. The fox rushed over to the wolf's side and threw his paws around him.

"Luke? What's the matter?! What's wrong?" Nick asked worriedly as Luke buried his tear-soaked face into the fox's shoulder.

"I- I" Luke stammered. His voice was quaking as he tried to spit out his words. "I need help." Luke burst back into tears as Nick gently stroked Luke's back with his paw.

"Shhhh. You don't have to say anything now. Come with me. We'll talk soon." Nick spoke softly as he ran his paw through Luke's grey fur.

"Where- where are we going?" Luke choked out as Nick guided him up from the bed.

"You'll see soon enough."

* * *

"Two coffees, decaf please." Nick told the waitress, a familiar looking lioness with a seemingly happy face despite working the late-night shift. "Luke, want anything else?" Luke simply shook his head no. "Great! He'll have scrambled eggs with a side of whole-wheat toast. Take your time!" Nick beamed as the waitress, equally radiant, took the menus from Nick's paw and gleefully hopped behind the counter.

"I said I didn't want anything." Luke replied flatly.

"Yes…BUT you also haven't eaten a bite for over a day. So you're going to eat something and then after that we can talk." Nick stated as the two of them sat waiting for their food. After a couple minutes of silence, Luke was the one to speak up first.

"Why'd you take me here?" Luke asked uneasily.

"Well, I figured you could use some getting out of that room of yours and we both know this place." Nick replied, causing Luke to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "You don't remember this place?! C'mon Luke, take a look around!"

Luke begrudgingly gazed around the diner's interior. He saw a familiar scene of a chirpy lioness hunched over the counter. Her tail swayed side to side as she hummed a song to herself while waiting for orders to arrive.

"You took me here. That one night when we met in the alley?" Luke's gaze shifted back to Nick. Whose eyes lit up with glee upon Luke's recognition of the scene.

"Yep! Glad you remember. I figured that if you were going to talk to me somewhere, it might as well be here. But before we get in to all that, how about you get some food into you." Nick answered at the lioness placed Luke's eggs and toast before him along with two steaming mugs of coffee; one for the each of them.

"Thank you miss." Nick nodded as the waitress skipped away back to behind the counter.

"I'm not hungry." Luke nudged the plate away from him with his paw.

"Luke, you are well aware that I know when mammals are lying. You haven't eaten anything for the past two days. You got to eat something. Just take a few bites to humor me and if you don't want it then so be it." Nick said, pushing the plate back closer to the wolf.

Luke hesitantly picked up his fork and scooped a serving of eggs into his mouth. His mouth immediately watered as the enticing flavor spread across every inch of his tongue. Despite the taste of the food, Luke set his fork back down.

"There, I ate a bite. I don't want anymore." Luke spoke bluntly while Nick just shook his head slowly.

"Luke, I saw your eyes light up as soon as you took that bite. Don't even bother denying that you want to finish this plate of food off right now. You're not leaving until we talk and that won't happen until you eat. So that's exactly what you're going to do." Nick replied affirmatively. Luke muttered unintelligibly to himself as he picked the fork back up and began to clear to food off his plate; bite by bite.

As Luke crunched down on his last bit of toast, he downed it with his last few sips of coffee. He set the mug down on the table and faced Nick from across the booth.

"So, you want me to talk?" Luke asked uncertainly.

"Only if you want to. I'm not forcing you to do anything." Nick replied warmly as Luke took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'm sorry that I've been shutting you guys out for bringing my to the psych ward. But the truth was that I felt betrayed. I know you guys are sorry and were just looking out for my wellbeing but you had no idea what happened to me when I was with Meles and if you did hear then you would understand why I had such a reaction. I couldn't bear to be locked up after what happened."

"It's alright Luke. Both Carrots and I understand that you're going through something right now, but we see that you're trying to take it all alone. We just want to be here for you and we can't be when we get shut out like this. If you can tell us what's happening then maybe we can help." Nick assured Luke as he looked into his warm, brown eyes. Luke steadied himself and began to speak.

"I've been having nightmares. Every time I go to sleep. All I see is myself in the Meles' lab, strapped down to that very same chair. I'm forced to relive through my torture over and over again and I'm just not sure how much more of it I can take. That's why you and Mom find me sobbing when you come into my room. I thought the worst was over when you guys came to rescue me but it's not. My nightmares are my reality, Dad." Luke spoke to the fox with great urgency. "I'm just not sure if I can find the strength to tell Bogo the truth about what happened to me when I was imprisoned in that lab."

"Luke, you don't have to tell Bogo anything right now. If you're truly that worried, then you can just practice on me. Only if you want, that is." Nick answered the distraught wolf.

"I'll do it, but only if you can handle it. What I'm going to tell you won't be easy to hear and it certainly wasn't easy to go through." Luke said uneasily as Nick nodded in a manner that reflected Luke's tone.

"I can handle it." Nick replied.

"Alright, when I went to see Meles, I turned back at the doorstep. I remembered what you said about 'loving me with all your hearts' and I realized I just couldn't leave you guys. That's when Meles invited me inside" Luke began in a delicate tone. "He said he wanted to talk but then when I told him I wanted to leave he sent his guards after me. I managed to fight off both of them but then Meles tranquilized me." Luke's eyes began to tear up but Nick stopped him.

"Shhhh. It's okay Luke. I'm here for you. You're doing fine." Nick placed his paw on top of Luke's. Luke regained his bearings, took a deep breath, and continued to speak.

"I woke up strapped into a chair, confronted by Meles. He told me he wanted to speak to me but I refused. That's when- when- when he decided to force me to talk. He started off by making his bears dig their claws into my shoulders. He wouldn't stop until I spoke to him." Luke's voice began to shake.

Nick shuddered at thought of seeing his son clawed up. He had seen Luke's shoulders earlier and knew that whatever had caused those injuries had done some serious damage. Nick, however, stayed silent as Luke continued his story.

"Meles told me the entire story of my life here. He was the one that sent the car to hit me, knowing that I would sacrifice myself to save Sarah. Meles, he had been monitoring me since I was attacked by the bear in the woods. He had been watching me through the pendant through the entire time. It was his plan all along to kill me, and the pendant was a perfect way to lure me right to him. That's when he began to mock me about Sarah so I snapped back at him. Meles didn't like what he heard so he began to next phase of his torture." Luke put his arms on the table in front of Nick, revealing his extensive burn marks. "Meles got his guards to take hot coals and plant them into my arms. I ended up blacking out but not before I could feel the searing pain. When I woke up, Meles still wanted to talk and I, not being able to take any more pain, decided to cooperate. He revealed his plan to me, which apparently I was on the precipice of discovering. He was going to use a virus called rabies, a disease that turns mammals savage and ultimately kills them, to bring Zootopia back to the ways when species stuck to their own kind. I realized that it wasn't Arctos that attacked him. In fact, Arctos tried to leave Meles' plan but Meles used him as a test-subject for the virus against his will. That's why he attacked me in the woods that night. Meles told me that he would be back to finish his job but I managed to trick him. I told him that I needed to say how much I truly hated you guys so I sent the message to you in hopes that you would see its true nature. I'm sorry that I've shut you guys out but I hope you can see why I didn't want to talk about it. I just don't know if I can tell this story again." Luke sunk his head into his paws and shook his head side to side.

"Luke, that's horrific. You're safe now though and you always will be with Carrots and I. We love you Luke and we always will. You don't have to tell this story again. Once is too many times. Something like this never should have happened to you." Nick spoke softly. Luke looked up to see the beginnings of tears in Nick's emerald eyes.

"Of course I have to tell it again. What about the police report? What about Mom?" Luke asked.

Nick had a faint smile on his face as he held up what looked to be a carrot-shaped pen but up clicking a button, Luke heard his voice play from the pen.

"I hope you don't mind but I recorded it. I knew you wouldn't want to speak of it again and have to keep reliving those moments so I figured that this could be used to explain to Carrots and Bogo. If you want I can delete it too. It's your call." Nick said warmly.

"Use it please. Thank you." Luke replied.

"If you don't mind Luke, I just have one question. You said you needed help?" Nick asked the wolf as he slipped the pen back into his pocket.

Luke nodded slowly as he spoke up. "Dad, these nightmares. I just can't take it. I can't live like this. I'm afraid to go to sleep. I need help. I need you to take me to a therapist." Luke's eyes began to well with tears as Nick hopped over to Luke's side of the booth.

"Hey, it's going to be fine. I'll fine the best freakin' therapist there is for you and then that'll be that. Say no more. I'm glad you told me Luke. Admitting that you need help takes courage and from what I've heard from you tonight, you have lots of it. I'm proud to be your father and sure as hell glad that you're my son." Nick pulled Luke into a tight hug.

"Thanks Dad." Luke sniffed as he pulled away from his father's arms. "There's one more thing I need to tell you though."

Nick's face grew still as he waited for Luke to speak. "Yeah son? What is it?"

"I made the right choice by staying."


	24. Chapter 24: Our Beginning

*****DISCLAIMER: I own no part of Zootopia*****

Chapter 24: Our Beginning

(Two weeks later)

Luke slowly opened his eyes as the sun's first rays began to trickle into his room. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand; 5:00 AM.

" _First day back."_ Luke smiled as he rolled out of his bed to get ready for work.

Luke was glad to see the familiar scene around the table. Nick was sitting with a steaming mug of coffee in his paws while his eyes scanned over the newspaper. Judy, too, sat sipping the rich, dark liquid as she sat back in her chair while staring off into space. They turned their heads sharply as Luke walked into the room.

"Hey son! Ready for your first day back at work?" Nick asked as Luke poured himself a large serving of coffee.

"I guess." Luke shrugged.

"Did you not sleep well last night? You seem a little bit down." Judy commented at Luke's deflated tone.

"No, I'm fine." Luke replied only to see his mom and dad exchange worried glances. "Seriously, I'm fine you guys!" Luke's chuckle allowed his parents to finally relax. "I haven't had a nightmare in two days! They're getting more and more infrequent."

"Then why are you so unenthused about returning to work? It'll be you and Sarah! Just like old- oh…" Judy trailed off upon realizing what she had just said.

"Yeah, I haven't talked to Sarah in a couple weeks. She's been calling and texting me but I've been dodging her calls." Luke's explanation immediately resulted in stern glances from Nick and Judy. "What?! Yeah, I get it. She helped you find me but I just can't forgive her right now after what she said. Please just try and understand where I'm coming from."

"Luke, we _do_ understand but maybe you should give Sarah a second chance. She feels awful for what she said and we know she really does care about you. Not saying you have to do it now but maybe just think whether all this resentment is really worth holding on to." Nick replied as Luke shook his head.

"Fine. I'll think about it. " Luke sighed. "I just don't understand why you guys are rushing to her defense after how she acted."

"Oh Luke, do you think we didn't defend you? The first thing Nick did was jump to your aid. He had quite the verbal altercation with Sarah. I actually had to stop him from completely losing control." Judy informed Luke.

"Yeah son, don't tick of Carrots. She's got a wicked good slap. Set me straight though." Nick answered a wide-eyed Luke.

"Mom?! You slapped Dad?!" Luke asked appalled.

"It's alright Luke, Nick didn't hold any grudge over it. He was too worried about you to get mad at me. Also, if you had seen Nick's temper, I'm sure you would have made him back off too." Judy replied to the stunned wolf.

"Getting back on point. Just promise you'll do your best to put the whole incident with Sarah behind you, if not for us then at least for the sake of the forensics lab. You two really are a terrific partnership." Nick told Luke who, in turn, responded with a slight scowl.

"No promises."

* * *

Luke arrived at the ZPD within the hour. Despite the fact his leave was only two weeks in duration, he felt as if it was his first day of work all over again. He awkwardly shuffled his feet through the lobby alongside Nick and Judy. They stopped him as Luke went to head off toward the elevator.

"Luke, have a great day!" Judy exclaimed as she and the fox gave Luke a warm embrace.

"Thanks." Luke replied sheepishly as he attempted to pry himself away from the hug but was ultimately unsuccessful. Luke began to blush as he watched the amused glances from fellow officers walking through the lobby.

"If you need anything then come right upstairs. Carrots and I are most likely going to be stuck here all-day so we'll be fairly accessible." Nick added as Luke headed off towards the elevators.

"Thanks guys! I'll be fine." Luke called back as he entered the elevator.

"Bye Luke! Have fun!" The fox and the rabbit called back in reply as the elevator doors slid shut.

As Luke listened the low hum of the elevator, he began to speculate about how he would shape his encounter with Sarah.

" _Take it easy Luke. Just keep it all work-related. No mention of therapy, no nightmares, nothing. You don't have talk to her unless it's relating to work."_ Luke told himself as the elevator slowed to a halt outside the lab.

As Luke opened his locker as slipped on his crisp, white lab coat. He felt his fur stand up on end as the fabric ran over his body.

" _Let's get back to it_." Luke thought as he took a deep breath and entered the lab.

Luke saw the familiar scene of Sarah's white-furred figure hunched over at a microscope. Luke, not wanting to attract any attention, slinked quietly into the lab and took a seat a few chairs over from Sarah. Luke cringed when he sat down, hearing the chair let out a high-pitched creak as it took on his body weight. Sarah pulled her face away from the microscope and her eyes lit up upon seeing Luke.

"You're back!" Sarah beamed as she ran out of her chair to give Luke a hug. He, however, held up his paw to stop her.

"No." Luke said stiffly. He immediately saw Sarah's pained eyes. "Sorry, my shoulders still hurt." Luke lied.

"Oh, okay." Sarah replied. Her voice sounded slightly hurt.

"What's there to work on?" Luke asked bluntly, not very in the mood for small talk.

"Oh, well cases have been a little bit slow around here so there's nothing major to do. I think all that's really available is to just organize some of the data that is just sitting here." Sarah replied.

"Then let's just get started on that." Luke replied gruffly as he logged into the computer to get started on the day's tasks.

"Alright then." Sarah responded with contrasting brightness as she, too, began to organize the data on her computer.

As the clock approached noon, Sarah logged out of her computer and turned to a still-working Luke.

"Hey, Luke. You want to go and grab some lunch? We could use a break." Sarah suggested. Luke kept his eyes focused on the screen of the computer.

"I'm not hungry." Luke answered curtly.

"Luke-" Sarah spoke softly.

"Go if _you_ want to. I'm not coming." Luke's voice grew slightly more agitated.

"Alright then. Maybe next time?" Sarah asked hopefully.

"Yeah, whatever." Luke responded stiffly. Without another word, Sarah got up from her chair and calmly walked out of the lab.

* * *

The rest of the day dragged on for Luke. Each movement of the minute hand on the clock seemed like an eternity. As the workday finally drew to a close, Luke shut off his computer and began to pack up his things. Just as he got up from his seat, the sound of Sarah's voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Luke?"

"What?" Luke asked slightly annoyed.

"I'm sorry, for everything." Sarah replied softly. Luke stayed silent for a few second before he spoke softly with an ice-cold tone.

"Damn it Sarah, just leave me alone."

"Luke?" Sarah asked lightly as she placed her white-furred paw on the back of Luke's shoulder.

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" Luke shouted as he hit Sarah's paw away. Sarah stumbled back as her arctic eyes filled with tears.

"Luke…" Sarah's voice quaked as her tears began to roll down her sleek, white fur.

"Don't you get it Sarah?! I don't need your apologies! They mean nothing to me. You want to fix this? Well you can! Just get out of my face and leave me the hell alone! I don't even understand why you visited me at the hospital after you-"

"LUKE!"

Luke's head snapped towards the entrance of the lab to see a fuming Nick standing at the entryway. His auburn fur stood on end while his teeth were bared as he looked at his son.

"Dad. I-"

"GET THE HELL OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" Nick bellowed. Luke slinked himself over towards the fox, tail tucked in between his legs. He had never seen his dad this angry before. "We're going home right now. Go. Get in the car!" Nick's words were razor-sharp.

Luke yanked his lab coat off and cast it aside as he stormed out of the room. As Nick began to follow Luke out of the lab, he quickly turned to Sarah. She was well past the breaking point, as evidenced by the waterfall of tears from her eyes. Nick quickly spoke.

"Sorry."

All Sarah could manage was a slight nod as her heavy sobs continued to echo throughout the lab.

* * *

"What the hell is the matter with you?!" Nick shouted at the grey wolf as the two sat in the car while they waited for Judy.

"She hurt me Dad." Luke began but Nick's glare immediately shut him up.

"And just because she hurt you means you now get to hurt her?! This was stupid Luke. Really stupid." Nick replied angrily.

"I'm sorry Dad. I don't know what got over me." Luke hung his head down in shame.

"Yeah? Well you better figure it out. It's this kind of stupidity that gets you fired, Luke! Tell me, what did she even do to you?" Nick raised his eyebrows.

"Nothing." Luke said shamefully.

"Yeah, so Sarah was probably nothing but nice to you today and you just came after her ruthlessly. I know you're mad but there's a fine line between being justifiably angry and being an ass. I think we both know you crossed that line back there." Nick's words seemed to cut into Luke like daggers. "Tomorrow, NOT today, you're going to go straight to her and apologize. Next, you're going to forgive her for what she said to you. No more of this anger. We've already seen enough of it. Are we clear?" Nick asked sternly. Luke nodded shyly, feeling Nick's powerful focus on him. "Good."

"I'm a horrible person." Luke's eyes began to tear up. "I've made you guys put your lives on hold after this incident with Meles, which YOU had to risk your lives to rescue me from. Then I completely shut you guys out when all you wanted to do is help; making Mom cry in the process. Now, I've made Sarah cry when she spent weeks waiting for me to come back and I've made you mad at me." Luke's walls began to crumble as he let out his tears.

"Hey, it's okay." Nick threw his arm around the sobbing wolf. "These past few weeks have been rough for everyone, and it's not your fault. It's no one's fault. And I'm not mad at you Luke. It's just that I know what Sarah is going through. I've been hurt before and I've hurt people too. Have I told you about the press conference with Carrots?"

Luke shook his head as he wiped away his tears with his paw.

"Carrots and I were wrapping-up a case, the night howler case to be specific." Luke's eyes widened as Nick mentioned the name. He had heard the general results of the case from Nick and Judy but he had never heard them speak of a press conference. "After we found the missing mammals, Carrots was called to deliver a message to the press. Eventually, she began to talk about the mammals, which were all predators. She mentioned how their savage nature may be a result of their biology, as if predators couldn't control their killer instincts."

"She really said that?!" Luke asked hushed.

"I'm not finished." Nick continued. "I, understandably angry, went up to her after the press conference. And just as I let my temper begin to show, Carrots pulls out a canister of fox-repellent. She didn't use it. She didn't have to."

"That's awful!" Luke responded horrified.

"It was. At the moment it was. Eventually we made up and she regained my trust but I was hurting for quite a while, Luke. That's why I acted so strongly when I saw you yell at Sarah. It took quite a while for Carrots and my relationship to heal completely so I had to stop your conflict so you wouldn't go through the same troubles as we did. You two are great together. It can't end like this, Luke. It just can't." Nick's emerald eyes met with Luke's intense, brown eyes.

"It won't. I promise Dad." Luke replied as the two shared a tight hug.

"Also, don't judge your mother on what she did. There's a reason we didn't tell you about that incident and that's because we decided just to leave it behind us. She loves me and she loves you too. Just like I do." Nick added.

"I love you guys too." Luke smiled as he heard the car door open.

"What is this in here? Feelings hour?" Judy asked as all three of them chuckled. Together, the three of them drove home as the sun made its colorful descent over the city of Zootopia.

* * *

Luke put on his lab coat and slowly met the blast of cold air from the lab. As he made his way toward the bench, he felt a knot in his stomach as he saw Sarah sitting behind a microscope. Luke didn't bother to mask the sound of his footsteps at he took a seat right next to the white wolf. Sarah didn't bother to take her head up from the microscope.

"Hi Sarah." Luke said dryly.

"Hey." She replied with the same hollow tone.

"Can we talk? About yesterday?" Luke asked cautiously.

"What's there to talk about? I heard you loud and clear. If you want me out of your life then so be it." Sarah answered bluntly.

"I'm sorry Sarah, I didn't mean it. I was just hurt but even that can't justify what I said to you yesterday. I was horrible to you. I was an ass. I just hope that you can forgive me after what I said." Luke's voice shook. Sarah, however, remained silent. "I realized something yesterday. I don't want to hate you. It sucks, Sarah. Hating you sucks and I can't do it anymore. I miss my partner. I miss you. Please, can we just start over?"

Sarah slowly took her head away from the microscope and stared into Luke's brown eyes. It was a sight she missed greatly.

"I can, Luke. I can forgive you. I know you may not want to hear it again but I am sorry for what I said as well. Water under the bridge?" Sarah's electric blue eyes focused on Luke.

"Water under the bridge." Luke smiled as they pulled each other into a tight embrace.

"I'm glad we're friends again."

Sarah's words wiped the grin off Luke's face as they separated from their hug. "I don't want to be your friend, Sarah."

"What?" Sarah asked painfully as her eyes began to tear up.

"No, no, no! Not that. I mean, I don't want to _just_ be your friend Sarah. I love you. I love you and I want you to be my girlfriend again. Just like I'd love nothing more than to be your boyfriend." Luke gave a toothy grin as Sarah wiped away the tears from her eyes and laughed lightly.

"I love you too Luke."

As the two locked lips, their fur stood up on end. It was as if a spark had come between them. Luke felt familiar warmth stir within his chest, as if a dying fire had been rekindled. The two ran their paws through each other's soft fur. Taking every inch as they continued their passionate kiss. As they finally separated, Sarah's azure eyes locked on to Luke's brown irises. She let out a sly grin as she faced the grey wolf.

"Come on, we've got work to do."


	25. Epilogue

**Author's Note: So guys. This is it. This is the last part of the story and man, what a journey it's been. So many realizations for the plot came while I was writing mid-chapter. I sat awake, late at night, simply thinking of how the next scene would go down word for word.**

 **I don't want to go on a giant spiel about the story right now. I will be posting ONE more chapter but that will be entirely about my thoughts on the story. I highly suggest that you read it. Thanks for the support and I'll see you in my closing on the next chapter.**

 **Enjoy the closing to the story!**

Epilogue

(15 years later)

Two wolves sat on their back deck, mounted on a hilltop overlooking the towering buildings of Savannah Central. The soft moonlight shone down on their fur as the peaceful night breeze left them in a state of pure tranquility.

"Remember when we sat on this hilltop so many years back?" The white-furred wolf asked as she took a sip of wine, the night lights of the city reflecting off her glass.

"My favorite spot in all of Zootopia. I just knew we had to build our house up here." The grey wolf sighed as he gazed into his wife's azure eyes, illuminated by the soft moonbeams.

"I wish I could stay out here forever. This job is just killing me. I honestly don't know how Clawson did it all." The female wolf replied as she sat back in her chair.

"Me neither honey, but that's why Bogo put me alongside you. Sure, being head- well, co-head, of the lab is tough but we'll get through it together. We always do." Her husband replied with a warm smile as she rested in his arms.

"I know." She admitted with a grin. "I never would have been able to do it alone though. Working in the lab with you still hasn't gotten old. Glad we are co-heads."

"To 'supporting each other'?" The male wolf raised his wine glass.

"To 'supporting each other'." His wife replied as they lightly clinked their glasses together and took another sip. The grey wolf frowned as he pulled up an empty bottle from their side.

"Shall I open another?" He asked.

"Please do." She smiled back as her husband got up from the chair and entered their home through the sliding glass door.

As the grey wolf walked over to the fridge and took out another bottle of wine, he heard the sound of light sobs coming from the other room. Carefully, he set the bottle down and tiptoed his way toward the door. His paw closed around the knob and he slowly creaked the door open to see his son sitting on the bed. Tears welled up in his piercing blue eyes and rolled down the soft grey fur of his muzzle.

"Tyler? What's wrong?" The father asked softly to his cub, being careful not to wake Tyler's sister in the neighboring room.

"Nothing Dad. Just go before you wake Izzy up." Tyler said as he wiped away the tears from his eyes.

"Tyler, tell me what's the matter. I promise, you'll feel better if you do." His father answered as he cuddled with his son.

"I'm- I'm just nervous for school tomorrow. I'm scared no one is gonna like me; that I'll have no friends." Tyler sniffed as he looked up at his father.

"Son, I know you're nervous. These things are scary but you'll make friends. There will definitely be people who will want to hang out with you." The older, grey wolf replied sincerely.

"You think so?" The cub asked unsurely.

"I know so." His father assured him. "I'll give you a piece of advice your grandfather gave me when I was a cub too. No matter how tough the road gets, it'll all work out in the end."

"Really?" His son questioned.

"Yes Tyler. It's all going to be just fine. I know you and if there's one thing I can say with absolute certainty it's this:"

 _You'll do just fine_


	26. Author's Closing

**Author's Closing**

So that's the end of "Zootopia: A New Adventure"! As I said earlier, this was my first story and I honestly didn't believe so much would come from this. I've almost hit 15,000 views total which is absolutely insane! On top of that, I've received so much great support from the readers of this story. I'm writing this chapter to share some of my thoughts about the story and if you'd like to leave your ending thoughts then that would be very much appreciated.

Never before have I written such a lengthy piece of fiction. Because of this, I was new to character development over a long time frame so I told myself that if I wanted to be effective at showing each character, I had to get to the character on a really personal level. Luke, being the protagonist, was the most challenging for me to conceive. I didn't want to make him a "perfect" character; where everything would go right for him and he had a flawless personality. In my opinion, those types of characters ultimately result in the story to feel dry. I wondered how I could make Luke, a flawed character, seem completely genuine and then that's when it hit me; why not put myself into the story? I decided that I would ultimately be the protagonist of the story and that would be the best way to let me run wild with the character. Obviously, Luke is not my real name but I made some of my traits Luke's traits. For example: the interest in medicine, the puns, even some of his insecurities were all parts of me that I decided to use to shape Luke. I also planned out Luke's character specifically to be a wolf because wolves are my favorite animal. I am not a furry but if you are then I'm not going to judge you. If that's you then that's you and who am I to say anything against your personality.

A lot of parts of the plot came as last-minute changes as I was writing or sometimes just happened to cross my mind and make me undergo a change of heart. One of the most significant plot changes was the situation of Luke's almost-return to Earth. I wanted a big incident between Sarah and Luke but I wasn't quite sure what I'd like to have happen. Originally, I wasn't going to have a fight happen between them and instead I would have Luke, Sarah, Nick, and Judy travel to Earth in search of Dr. Meles (who had not yet been revealed as evil and had never been infected by rabies). They would travel to Earth where, on a bridge over a gorge, they would meet Meles. I had planned for Meles to shove Sarah off the bridge to her death in the gorge and leave Luke heartbroken, only for it later to be revealed that Sarah had used the pendant to save herself and travel back to Zootopia. I ultimately scrapped this idea because I felt that it was too cliché. I felt that a conflict between Luke and Sarah would ultimately be more effective because it allowed for you guys to see Sarah's flaws as well in addition to making their relationship more realistic (because there is no perfect relationship. There will always be fights).

This next point addresses something that I've seen a lot of in the reviews: will there be a sequel? The truth is I don't know. I don't think I'll be able to write for a while since school just started up for me and I'm in the worst year of high school; junior year. I'm going to be swamped with work on a daily basis, so what little free-time I'll get I think I'll end up using to spend time with friends and family. This story was a summer project for me. I absolutely loved the movie Zootopia and after spending a while reading stories on this site, I decided to try my hand at writing. I had a great time writing the story but for now I'm saying that there won't be another story from me due to being so busy. However, I will keep my mind going about a potential plot I can use and if one comes up then I could possibly write a sequel. Who knows?

Lastly, I wanted to give a big thanks to all of you. Even if you just simply viewed the story or as went so far as to follow, favorite, and review it I give you all a great "thank you". I never expected that my story would reach 1,000 let alone almost 15,000 views! I saw some of you said that this story deserved more publicity and while that's flattering and all, I was never writing for the favorites. I was writing because it was something that I thoroughly enjoyed. I know I may have said to "follow, favorite, and review" but I stopped including those during the author's notes after I just simply got lost in the writing. I loved to receive reviews from you guys and I've been through every single one. I know some authors won't go through their reviews but I read every single word of them. It's the least I can do after you read every single word of what I had to show.

I really enjoyed writing this story for you guys. When I finished it, I read the entire story as a whole and I got misty-eyed at the end. Not only did I see the characters change throughout the course of the story but was incredible to see how my writing changed. If you're sad to see the story end, you're certainly not alone because it's sad for me too. I can't thank you guys enough for all the incredible support I've received. Thanks for being there through every chapter and good luck with any works of your own.

\- determined725


End file.
